


Back to Where It All Began

by ZanzaFlux



Series: Shadows of the Studio [11]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2D Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Ink Henry AU, Misunderstandings, Tagging to be on the safe side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2020-03-06 01:39:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 66,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18841015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux
Summary: As soon as Ben walked into the Anderson home, he knew something was wrong.  Now he must team up with the one person he never thought would ask him for help.  Can he control his anger long enough to save his friend, or will the Studio take his last hope at happiness?





	1. Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the 2D Bendy and Ink Henry AUs that were created by @shinyzango and @themarginalartist on tumblr respectively.
> 
> This is it guys. This is the last story in the Shadows of the Studio series. This is what I've been building up to. I didn't think I'd get this far, but I wanted to give these stories the conclusion they deserve.

Ink bled through the wall in the living room. The dark substance shimmered as Ben stepped through the portal. It closed behind him, leaving no sign that the ink was even there.

The first thing he noticed as he stood near the wall was how quiet it was. Normally Bendy would be running around the house with the girls. The demon shook his head. They always made so much noise. Having such sensitive hearing could be a curse sometimes.

Ben peered through the living room window. He could see Henry and Jason standing near a large red vehicle. Then he looked at the clock on the mantle. He huffed softly. It was too early. The children were still in school.

The demon shuffled off to the kitchen. There was no sign of June. Maybe she was out shopping. She probably took the little ink spot with her. It wouldn't be the first time he'd shown up and she wasn't home. When that happened he usually entertained himself by playing with his little kitten. Speaking of the little grey puffball…

Ben walked back into the living room. He didn't see Cloudy anywhere. The kitten usually ran up to him as soon as he stepped foot in the house. The house was too quiet and it was starting to get to him. It's not like he had never experienced such silence in the home before. This felt different. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

“ **Cloooudy?** ” The demon called out to the little kitten. Ben winced slightly. Even thought he didn't yell out, the stillness around him made it seem too loud. His horns swayed slightly as he stood still and listened. The silence stretched on for a few agonizing seconds until he heard a tiny, squeaky mewl from under the couch. Ben tilted his head and walked over to the couch. He called the kitten again, gentler this time. The sound he heard was a little louder, but the cat refused to get out from under the furniture.

Ben sighed and tried to stay patient with his little kitten. He learned early on that cats could be skittish sometimes. Something must have spooked him. He knelt down, hooked his gloved hand under the couch and lifted up one end of it as though it weighed nothing.

Cloudy was curled up into the smallest ball he had ever seen. He was staring up at Ben wide eyed and his little tail was puffy. The demon held out his human like hand and wiggled his fingers as he waited for the kitten to come to him. The grey bundle of fluff uncurled from his little ball and approached Ben cautiously. He sniffed at the tips of the demon's fingers before climbing into his waiting palm.

Ben held the kitten close to his chest as he lowered the end of the couch. He was grateful that Jason taught him how to coax Cloudy out when he was trying to hide. Even June didn't know what to do when the cat got like that. She would get worried and call her husband for help. He would laugh and show them how to handle the little animal. The demon was surprised the man knew so much about cats.

The kitten rubbed his head against Ben's bow tie and blinked up at him. The ink demon lifted Cloudy until they were face to face. The kitten let loose a squeaky meow and pawed at Ben's face. His paw was soft and warm and covered in ink…

“ **Ink?** ” His head snapped back and he carefully took the kitten's paw so he could get a closer look. He knew what the ink looked like, what it smelled like. This was definitely ink from the Studio. Being surrounded by the oily black liquid most of his existence, he knew it when he saw it. But, how did Cloudy get it on his paw? The demon was sure it didn't come from him and Bendy would have cleaned up any mess he made.

A pit began to form in his stomach as the feeling of wrongness got stronger. Ben stood up and looked around the living room as he tried to find the source of the ink. He soon spotted a trail of paw prints that came from upstairs. The pit in his stomach felt like a chasm.

Ben hissed and gently scratched the little kitten under his chin before setting him down on the couch. He really hoped he was just being paranoid. The demon followed the paw prints and slowly made his way up the steps. The demon froze as soon as he saw what awaited him at the end of the hall.

He really hoped he was seeing things but the stutter in his black heart told him otherwise. Ben took a shaky breath and forced himself to walk down the hallway. His movements were stiff and jerky as he tried to comprehend why there was ink on the wall and on the floor. If anyone saw him right now, he was sure he’d scare them.

He stopped moving when his foot hit something. It was a basket, the one that June used when she did the laundry. There were sheets and towels laying in a puddle of ink. The demon couldn't stop the growl that crawled up his throat. This was impossible.

Ben stepped onto the puddle and a shiver ran up his spine. The cold ink was so out of place in this warm home, it made him snarl. It felt like it was defiling June's home with its presence. Finally, he reached out and touched the wall. He wanted to absorb the offending substance, to make this safe place clean again. But he couldn't because it didn't come from him. The ink was potent and chaotic…alive.

“ **It can't be…** ”

**-Meanwhile-**

Sometimes the bond with Bendy could be a double edged sword. It helped him to relate to the little toon better. Henry knew how Bendy felt at any given moment. For a character that was created with just basic emotions in mind, all these new and complex feelings were quite confusing for him. He took steps to help the toon when words weren't enough to express himself. This really helped the first few weeks after they left the Studio. The little toon's emotions were all over the place. They both learned from one another and things grew smoother over time.

On the flipside, Bendy felt things so strongly that it was very distracting. Henry could be working on something and get hit with a wave of happiness that nearly knocked him off his feet. It could be quite dizzying at times. Then there were the times that Henry couldn't hide how he was feeling from his friend. Telling Bendy, “I'm fine.”, never worked and he even got angry if Henry lied to him. He learned pretty quickly that honestly was the best policy and the toon just wanted to help.

So now here he was, trying to help Jason string lights all over his rig, and being bombarded by emotions that weren't his own. It made it hard for him to keep up with his brother-in-law’s conversation.

The toon was sad and frustrated. It probably had something to do with Ben. Bendy didn't like the idea of the ink demon hanging around his family. Henry didn't like it either. He thought his sister was way over her head and he worried all the time. Hearing of the numerous times Ben had lost his temper and lashed out at her, even hurting her on a few occasions, really didn’t help the demon’s case.

In his eyes, things were getting too risky. Henry wanted this little experiment to end then and there, but June defended Ben. Somewhere down the line, she wanted to help him. She saw something in him that Henry didn't. Admittedly, his past experiences with the ink demon might be coloring his opinion of him. June's stubbornness reared its ugly head and she refused to give up on him. So Henry acquiesced but kept a close eye on the situation.

Bendy suddenly felt relief and gratitude. Henry smiled. June must have said something to make him feel better. The little toon never stayed down for long. It just wasn't in his nature to feel sad for long periods of time. Bendy's positivity often kept his own past pains from drowning him. Henry was grateful for that.

A throb from the pentagram in his right hand and a spike of fear from the little toon let him know the demon was in the house. Probably sneaking up and scaring June and Bendy. For some reason Ben found that funny and while it was a harmless prank, Henry wished he wouldn't do that. Bendy's jitteriness always put him on edge.

Something didn't feel right. Bendy was more worried than usual. The fear was strong too. Henry found himself staring at the house and waiting for something to happen. If Ben went too far, he was ready to straighten the demon out. All of his attention was on whatever was going on in the house so he barely heard Jason call his name.

“Henry! Earth to Henry!” Jason was waving his hand in front of his face. He blinked and broke eye contact with the house. “Hey, what’s going on? You zoned out on me.”

“Sorry Jay.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. The tension from Bendy was making him nervous. “Something is going on in the house…”. He couldn’t keep the scowl off his face.

“It’s probably Ben.” Jason rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why he likes doing that. It’s almost as if he likes it when June yells at him for scaring her.” He shrugged and checked the lights on ‘Lucy’. “He’s like a big kid. He'll take any attention he can get.”

“Huh, I never thought of it like that…” It was hard for him to see the demon as a big kid. He chased them throughout the Studio. He tried to kill him and Bendy numerous times for goodness sakes! Henry didn’t see Ben's pranks as harmless fun, although he didn’t do that to his nieces. He supposed that should account for something, but still…

Before Henry could voice his opinion, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. It caught him off guard and he fell to his knees, clutching his head. He could barely hear Jason call his name through the buzzing in his head. Too many emotions hit his mind like a bullwhip. It snapped fast and just as quickly was gone. Henry felt dazed and confused.

“Henry? HENRY?! Are you alright?” Jason shook his shoulders to get him to respond. Henry blinked a few times and shook his head. The pain was fading slowly but it still left a dull throb in the back of his skull. It took him about a minute to tell his brother-in-law that he was alright.

“Something’s wrong.” Henry stared at Jason then he looked towards the house. His eyes narrowed in concentration. Bendy's presence felt very dull through their bond.

“Do you think Ben attacked Bendy or something?” Jason sounded nervous. They both listened but neither heard a sound from the house. No shouts from June or anything.

“I don't know…” Henry rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly. “I-I don't feel anything…” He prodded the bond he shared with the little toon, but there was no response. He didn't like this, not one bit. “We need to check on them, now!”

Henry stood up unsteadily. He swayed slightly but managed to keep his balance as they headed for the house. Jason was close behind when they ran through the front door. They walked into the living room and called out for Bendy and June. They got no answer. The house was too quiet. Jason checked the basement while Henry peaked into the kitchen. Nothing. He stepped out the backdoor. Maybe June was in the yard hanging out clothes. Nothing. Fear began to creep up his spine.

“They’re not down there.” Jason emerged from the basement and walked back into the living room. That's when he saw the little kitten curled up on the couch. He clicked his tongue to get the cat to come to him and that's when he noticed something on his fur. He picked Cloudy up to examine the little paw.

“Bro, you need to take a look at this!” Henry sprinted back into the room and stood near Jason. That's when he saw it. Ink on Cloudy's paw. He reached out and touched it. It was already dry.

“Where did this come from?” Henry looked around. There were no puddles on the floor as far as he could see. Both men walked around the couch and spotted a small trail of ink leading up the steps.

Jason placed Cloudy gently on the floor. He gave Henry a sharp nod and they both ran up the steps. His heart was pounding in his ears. With the incessant throbbing of the pentagram in his hand, Henry just knew he wasn't going to like what they find. As soon as they hit the top step, his blood ran cold.

Ben was standing at the other end of the hallway with his hand pressed against the wall. They could see a large puddle of ink at the demon's feet and on the wall. As both men got closer, they could see June's basket and towels laying on the floor. Henry’s heart seized at the sight of the mess before them.

“What's going on here?!” Ben visibly startled. He must not have heard them coming. He let his hand fall to his side and turned toward Jason. His grin was very strained and he hadn't said a word. This made both men suspicious.

“Where are they?” Ben hummed almost thoughtfully and looked away from them. “JUNE! BENDY!?” Jason ran off as he frantically went from room to room. Henry could hear the panic in his voice as he called out to them. Deep down, the old animator knew they weren't here.

“Ben.” The demon refused to look at him. “Ben!” he said in a sterner tone. Ben's head snapped in his direction. “What happened?” A low hiss was his only reply. Henry could feel the ink in his veins begin to stir the longer the ink demon went without answering him. Ben looked back at the ink covered wall and growled, “ **Henry…** ”

“Where are they?!” Jason ran out of the girls’ room and stormed up to the ink demon. He screamed, ”WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!”

Ben was taken aback by the man's accusation. “ **I-I did not do thisss.** ”

“We looked all over the house! They're not here!” Jason stepped closer and stabbed his finger against the demon's narrow chest. “We can't find them, but you're here, standing near a wall covered in ink!”

“Ben.” Henry got his attention again. If this was some sort of game, it wasn't funny. “Did you hurt Bendy? Did you take them back to the Studio?”

The demon shook his head vigorously. He whined, reached up, and tugged at his horns. “ **I did not do thisss!** ” This wasn’t happening. Surely they didn’t think he had something to do with this? After all the promises he made and all the things he's done not to hurt anyone, they were still quick to blame him for something he didn’t do! If June were here, she'd tell them that they were wrong. She would believe him! But-but she wasn’t here…

“LIAR! June trusted you!” He waved his fist threateningly. Ben grew very still and Henry got the impression that the demon was glaring at Jason. “Hell, I trusted you! How could you do this to us-!?” His rant was cut short by a large gloved hand wrapping around his throat.

Henry forgot how quick Ben could move. Within a few seconds, the demon had grabbed Jason by the neck, picked him up a good foot off the floor, and slammed him against the opposite wall. The man was gasping for air with the demon's face a few inches away from his own. Inky veins began to crawl across the walls. They were so thick, they nearly plunged the entire hall into darkness. The sound of ink dripping from the ceiling and hitting the floor echoed around them. It was the stuff of nightmares.

“ **I am not a LIAR!** ” Ben snarled. “ **I gave my word. I did NoT dO tHiSsS!** ” The distortion in his voice caused Henry to shudder. It dredged up horrible memories of being chased down narrow, yellowing hallways. He even heard the ever present heartbeat that accompanied the demon when he stalked him. He needed to stop this before things got out of control.

“Ben!” Henry grabbed the demon by the wrist and pulled. Ben's head swiveled in his direction and he growled lowly. “Let him go, NOW!” The ink in his veins snaked up his forearm and Henry knew the whites of his eyes were bleeding black. This was the only warning he was going to give the demon.

Ben was panting heavily as his cold breath danced across Henry's face. The man didn't even flinch. A few long seconds passed between them before the ink demon relented, releasing Jason. The man collapsed to the floor and gasped for air. Henry was at his side, telling him to take deep breaths while keeping an eye on the demon.

Ben backed up a few steps. He ran his large gloved hand down his face and his body visibly shook as he tried to reign in his anger. His inky veins began to fade as light returned to the hallway. Even the ink that dripped on the floor was gone. The only sounds that could be heard was Jason's labored breathing and soft hissing from Ben. The only ink that remained was the puddle on the floor and the large spot on the wall…

“I should have known better than to trust you.” Jason scowled as Henry helped him to his feet. “If something happens to them, I'll make you regret it!” Ben hunched over slightly and growled at them. Jason tried to confront the demon again, but was being held back. “Henry? What are you doing?”

“Jay wait! I-I think he's telling the truth.” The look of utter disbelief on his brother-in-law's face made Henry wince. “I know what this looks like, but I don't think he took them.”

“How can you be so sure?” Jason leaned against the wall and grimaced at the pain in his back. Henry knew Ben was strong enough to do a lot worse than this. He could snap a man's neck without breaking a sweat. Jason got off easy.

“Look at this mess.” Henry pointed to the ink on the wall and the puddle on the floor. “Ben doesn't leave ink behind.” He looked directly at Jason to get his point across. “You've seen him open portals before. He doesn't leave a spot on the wall. He doesn't even leave footprints in his wake.” He turned and found Ben staring at him. “Someone or something else did this.”

Jason took a few shaky breaths and looked around. Ultimately he had to admit, Henry was right. It still hadn't changed the fact that June and Bendy was missing.

“If he didn't do this, then who did?” Jason pointed to the ink covered wall. “I thought he was the only one that could do stuff like that!”

“I-I thought so too.” Henry looked to the demon for answers but he seemed just as confused as they were. He stood by the wall and place his human hand against the ink. “Ben, is this ink from the Studio?”

“ **The path meandersss but it doesss lead back there.** ” The demon sighed and pulled his hand away. He stepped back to put some distance between himself and the strange ink.

Henry shook his head. He knew the Studio was somehow involved. The place that he once loved going to has turned into a reoccurring nightmare. Its influence continues to put him and his family in danger. He was growing tired of this. It made him wish he had gone back and burned the place to the ground after the last time they escaped.

“Alright so they're at the Studio?” Ben nodded slowly. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go there and bring them home!” Jason began patting his pockets. “We'll hop in ‘Lucy' and be there in no time…”

Henry grabbed Jason shoulder to stop him. “Jay, you can't go!”

His normally laid back brother-in-law looked absolutely livid. “What do you mean I can't go! SHE'S MY WIFE!” He pulled out of Henry's grip and rounded on the man. “There is no way I'm leaving her in that hellhole!”

Henry raised his hands in a defensive manner. “Jay, the girls will be coming home soon. Someone needs to be here for them.”

“I-But…” Jason looked between Henry and Ben. There was a war waging behind his eyes. He was worried sick about June and Bendy. They were all alone with God knows what in the Studio. They needed to save them, but he couldn't leave the girls alone. Jason closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. After a few seconds his shoulders sagged and he looked defeated. “You're right, you're right…”

“I'll go with Ben. He can transport us there instantly.” The demon scoffed at the idea but Henry didn't care. They're his family. He wasn't going to let anything happen to them. “We'll bring them back.”

The look of determination in Henry's eyes banished all doubt in Jason's mind. He knew his brother-in-law would stop at nothing to save them, he just wished he could go with them. His trust in the ink demon was a little shaky at the moment, but he was their best bet at bringing them home.

Henry nodded and walked up to the demon. “Let’s stop by the first floor first. Maybe Norman and the others know what's going on.” Ben growled at him. What gave this man the right to order him around? Henry lost that privilege when he left him to Joey's tender mercies for years, then turned his back on him when he found a perfect version of himself!

“Please Ben, I really need your help." There was a ring of desperation in the man's voice.  "You and I both know, the longer they're there, the more danger they'll be in!” Henry really didn't want to fight with the demon. He was his only hope of getting to the Studio quickly and he didn't trust the creature to go off on his own.

Ben grew quiet and stared at Henry for a moment. The old animator surprised him. He was actually asking HIM for help. He half expected the man to yell or threaten him, but he did none of those things. He ASKED! The demon never thought he'd see the day where Henry needed something from him.

Truthfully, Ben didn't think he needed the old man’s help. He was sure he could rescue June and the little ink spot on his own. Henry would just slow him down. Although, he might need him to come along just in case June was hurt. Ben didn't know how to take care of a human. They were so fragile, so easy to break. The thought of June laying somewhere in the Studio hurt and in pain was starting to make his ink boil. Whoever did this, he will make them suffer.

“ **Let'sss go.** ” The demon waved his hand and an inky portal opened up on the opposite wall. He had an idea about where the other portal might lead, but he couldn't use it. He couldn't control that particular brand of chaotic ink. Ben wanted to get them both to the Studio in one piece. They could move on from there.

Before either of them could leave, Jason grabbed the demon by his wrist. Ben wanted to snap at the man, but stopped when he got a good look at his face. He looked so scared and miserable. The grip on his wrist tightened as he looked up at him.

“Ben, I'm so sorry I-“ Jason closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. “Please, bring her back to me.” Ben stared down at him. He had never seen him like this before. It seemed so out of place for the normally calm man.

Ben gently pulled his wrist out of Jason's hand. He nodded slightly. “ **I will.** ” They disappeared into the inky portal. It closed up, leaving the wall spotless and Jason praying for their safe return.

**-Joey Drew Studios-**

June began to stir. God, her head hurt, her back hurt…everything just hurt. She fought to open her eyes but they felt so heavy. A moan escaped her lips as she rubbed the back of her head. Her mind was a little foggy as she tried to piece together what happened.

June asked Bendy to help her put the laundry away. They went upstairs…there was ink on the wall and floor. Something didn't feel right. She thought it was Ben playing a trick on them, but a giant hand lashed out! She screamed and Bendy...

“BENDY!” June's eyes flew open and she immediately regretted it. Bright lights in the distance assaulted her vision and caused a terrible pain to lance through her head. She held her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths to fight the nauseam that was crawling up her throat. Opening her eyes slowly to let her eyes get used to wherever the light was coming from.

June thought she was dreaming. She was sitting on the floor of a rusted cage. In the distance she could see other cages and floodlights that bathed the rocky cavern in eerie yellowing light. What nearly made her heart stop was the sea of ink that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The sound of machinery echoed off the nearby walls. There were giant pipes that seemed to be drawing the ink away to where, she wasn't sure.

She scanned the shoreline as the ink lightly lapped at the edge. June's heart leapt into her throat when she saw a familiar figure laying on the ground more than ten feet from her. It was Bendy! He was laying on his back and he wasn't moving.

She gripped the rusty bars and pulled herself to her feet. June pushed on the cage door but it wouldn't budge. She called out to Bendy and silently prayed that he wasn't hurt.

The little toon moaned and shifted at the sound of her voice. She breathed a sigh of relief. ‘ _He's alive! Thank goodness.’_ June thought as she watched his head roll in her direction. Bendy blinked his pie cut eyes a few times before they grew wide with shock.

“Aunt June?! Are you alright?” A hysterical laughter bubbled up her throat. Of course that would be the first thing he'd ask. She told him she was fine. “Where are we?” The toon squinted as he just now noticed cage she was in.

June gripped the bars tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. “I-I think we're in some kind of underground cave.” She shook the bars again, but they barely moved. “There is ink everywhere!”

“Ink?” Bendy gasped as he took in the ink running down the cave walls. The sound of waves rolling against the shore got his attention. He turned his head and grew very still. After a few seconds of silence his body began to shake. “No no no, we can't be here!” He tried to get up, but he seemed to be stuck to the ground. “H-How did we get back here?!”

June wasn't sure. Her memory was still fuzzy. The little toon began to panic and thrash about on the ground. June could see that his ink started to bubble and run down his body. It looked like he was trying to change, but something was wrong. “Bendy?” All of a sudden, his body spasms and June could see sparks of electricity arcing across his form. He screamed. The horrible sound bouncing off the cavern walls.

“Bendy! Bendy, STOP!” June thrusts her hand between the bars and reached out to him desperately. Whatever was happening was causing him so much pain. She just wanted him to stop. After a few seconds of struggling, Bendy's body sagged from exhaustion. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were blown so wide, they looked like hollow voids in his pale face.

The cave grew quite and she could hear footsteps fast approaching. “Hello?! Is anyone there?!” June rattled the bars to make as much noise as possible. “HELP! Please, someone HELP US!”

“Oh good, you're awake.” June jumped and looked to the sound of the voice. A tall figure emerged from an opening in the rock wall. They appeared to have horns and a strange ring embedded in their head. As the light finally fell upon them, June recognized who it was.

“Alice?” she gasped. The woman looked right at her and smiled. It gave June the creeps. “Please, open this cage! I need to check on Bendy. He’s hurt…” The angel just shook her head and she felt her blood run cold.

“I'm afraid I can't do that.” Alice walked over to Bendy's prone form and knelt next to his head. “He is the key to my freedom.” She reached out and stroked his horns. Bendy shuddered at her touch. “I need him.”

June didn't like the way the angel was so fixated on her nephew. “I don't understand! What's going on?!” She rattled the bars of her cage out of frustration. “Open this damn cage!”

Alice stood up and walked towards June. As the fallen angel got closer, she noticed a strange red glow in her empty eye socket. Something didn't feel right. Alice gripped the bars and pressed her face against the cage door.

“Oh no, I can't do that. I wouldn't want you to miss the show, _Juney_.” June gasped and backed up until she was on the other side of her small cage. This wasn't happening… There were only two people that used that nickname. One was her brother and the other…

“It can't be…” June whispered as she stared into the angel's crazed eye. “Linda?” The smile that split the woman's face was painfully wide as it tugged at the ruined part of her mouth.

“I always told Henry that you were the smart one.” The manic glee in her voice made June wince.

“NO! Y-you can't be here!” June had to swallow a few times as her mouth sudden felt very dry. “You're dead. Ben dragged you away!” She could feel her heart beating against her ribcage as Linda just stared at her. The angry glare she received made June glad they had the bars between them. She looked like she wanted to claw her eyes out.

“Death doesn't mean much in this place. The ink is very good at trapping souls.” Linda pushed away from the bars and walked over to Bendy. The little toon shook terribly. The woman knelt down, reached out, and lightly traced the demon's widow's peak with the tips of her fingers. Bendy whimpered and tried to move away, but couldn't.

“My body was lost to the dark puddles, but my soul remained.” She chuckled at the little toon's discomfort. “I was trapped in a small glass prison, but I managed to escape.”

Linda stood up and placed her hands on her hips. “I needed a body. Lucky for me, the angel was more than happy to oblige.” She tapped the side of Bendy's head with the tip of her foot. The little toon hissed and tried to move away, but it was like he was stuck to the ground. The woman chuckled cruelly. “You won’t be getting away this time. You’re laying on a smaller, but stronger seal.” Linda lifted her foot and brought it down on his chest. Bendy squirmed under foot. “Believe it or not, I learn from my mistakes.”

June moved without thinking as she reached through the bars and screamed for Linda to leave him alone. The woman paid her no mind. She ground her heel into his chest and Bendy cried out in pain. “It took time and a lot of research, but I will finally have the keys to true freedom.”

Heavy footsteps and a strange clicking sound coming from the tunnel caught June's attention. She turned just in time to see a large figure emerge from the cave entrance. Her heart leapt up into her throat. She slowly recognized the different parts of the creature as it lumbered towards Linda. June glanced at her and saw the knowing grin on her face. “Norman? Sammy?” She was confused and horrified. “W-What did you do to them?”

“Do you like it?” The creature stood next to Linda. She stepped away from Bendy, reached up, and touched the broken lens of the projector. The normally bright yellow light flashed red and the teeth in its chest clicked loudly. “I could have killed them, but they are more useful to me like this.”

June couldn’t believe it. Linda had taken the only two people she considered friends not just to herself, but her children as well, and twisted them. She combined them into something monstrous. It stood there, looming over the other woman’s shoulder. June was sure it couldn’t speak from the way it growled softly.

“I should have been a bit more specific when I told it to bring anyone that with the little toon there. I thought Henry would be with him.” She chuckle and shrugged her slim shoulders. “Oh well, you'll do just fine.” The sneer that pulled at the angel's ruined face made a chill run up June's spine.

“All I need is the ink demon and I can finally leave this place.” Linda paced around June’s cage and seemed to be studying her. She had a thoughtful expression on her face. “Speaking of the demon, how are you controlling him?”

“What?” June stared at the other woman. She felt strangely offended by the other woman's question. “What are you talking about?”

“Y'know, I never took you as someone who dabbled in the dark arts.” Linda chuckled. “I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.” The woman came to a stop in front of the cage door. She crossed her arms over her chest and squinted at June. “So, how did you get him to obey you? I had to use a collar myself.”

“I-I'm not controlling him?” June didn't even try to hide the disgust on her face. She would never do something like that. Enslaving another person, bending them to your was just wrong! She didn't care if the person in question was a demon.

Linda frowned for a moment. “C’mon Juney, you can tell me.” She said in a sing song voice that made June grit her teeth. “I've read your children’s letters. He's been in and out of your home for months now.” Linda pointed to the creature, then raised her hand so June could see the glowing symbol in the palm of her hand. “This is what I use to control my little creation over there.” She seemed so proud of herself.

June just shook her head. “I don’t control him. He comes and goes as he pleases.” The memory of that collar and the immense pain Ben suffered because of it, flashed in her mind, and it made her angry. She would never do something like that to him.

“That can’t be right…” Linda rubbed at her chin as her eyes roamed over June's body. “Demons don’t work that way.” She noticed the way June's eyes wandered over to Bendy. She tsked and waved a hand at the toon. “He doesn’t count! That little demon is bound to your brother.” Linda spoke to June as though she were explaining things to a child. She bristled at her condescending tone.

“Demon’s don’t do anything out of the kindness of their ‘hearts’.” She spat the word out. “If you didn't bind him in some way, you must have made a deal of some sort.” There was a flash of red in the angel's empty eye socket as her focus returned to June. “So Juney, what kind of deal did you make with the demon?”

“I don't know what you're talking about!” June stomped her foot on the rusty cage bottom. This woman was crazy! “I didn’t make any deals…with him…”. June’s brows knitted as she remembered a few things. She didn’t make any deals with Ben. Sure, she made him promise not to hurt Henry and Bendy…or the little kitten he found in the yard…or that time the girls made him promise not to take her away. But, those weren’t deals…were they?

“No, I-I didn’t make a deal with him.” That denial sounded weak even to her ears. June blinked and looked back at Linda only to frown at the smug look on her face.

“Whatever you say Juney, whatever you say.” She waved a dismissive hand at the other woman. Linda walked over to the side of the cage and picked up an axe that was leaning against the wall. She examined the sharp edge of the blade with the tips of her fingers.

“It doesn’t really matter.” Linda spoke without taking her eye off the axe in her hands. There was something in the tone of her voice made June shiver. “This'll all be over soon.”

 


	2. Partners?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry followed the demon back to the Studio. He knew he needed Ben's help, but the demon wasn't making things easy on him. Between being ignored or flat out growled at, he began to wonder if this was such a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm...

An inky portal opened up on the wall near the entrance to the first floor of Joey Drew Studios. Two figures stepped through and it closed behind them. One was a man who never wanted to come back to this hellish place. The other was a demon who calls these ink covered halls home.

Henry stumbled slightly as he was hit by a wave of panic and fear. He closed his eyes tightly. It took a lot of effort on his part to break through the strong negative emotions Bendy was bombarding him with. Once the little toon realized he was close by, he began to calm down greatly. Relief washed over him like cold water. Henry took a few calming breaths and opened his eyes to find Ben staring at him. He almost forgot the demon was there.

“Bendy is definitely here. I can feel his presence. I just hope June is with him.” Ben nodded and shuffled down the hall. Henry sent Bendy another wave of reassurance and followed the demon. He never thought he'd step foot in this place again. Not on purpose anyway. If it weren't for Norman and the others, he would have burned this place to the ground already. All Henry wanted was to live in peace and not have the threat of this place looming over his shoulder anymore.

He was so lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice how quiet it was right away. He called out to the trio, but got no response. There were no moans from Searchers or clanking from the pipes above their heads. Nothing. It was eerie.

Ben used his inky shadows to extend his senses. He heard a small gasp from Henry. He knew how much the man loathed his abilities, but desperate times called for desperate measures. June could be hurt or worse, and the fact that neither Norman, nor Sammy was around, made him anxious.

They made their way further down the hall and came to a stop near the screening area. Henry poked his head into some of the rooms while Ben stood there and let his shadows crawl along the walls. He felt nothing. The first floor was as empty and quiet as June’s home.

Ben pulled his inky shadows back and waited for Henry to finish searching the rooms. Sitting on a nearby table was a record, a reel of film, and a small projector. He recognized them as the presents Norman and Sammy wanted to give the children. They were so excited to find these hidden gems, it was all they could talk about as he sent them back to the first floor. Those two would have never left such precious items unattended like this. Not if they could help it.

“I don’t like this.” Henry echoed his thought exactly. “Where are they?” Ben could hear the hint of nervousness in his normally calm voice.

“ **They'rrre not on thisss floor.** ” Ben watched as Henry ran his fingers through his hair. He had observed the man long enough to know he did that when he got agitated. His eyes wandered down the well lit hallway, probably in the hopes that one of them would show up. Ben knew no one was coming. Even with his sensitive hearing, the first floor was silent save for the constant dripping from the pipes in the walls.

“Maybe they're down in the music department?” Ben shrugged. They definitely weren’t up here. That’s for sure. The music department was their best bet. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was really wrong. He waved his gloved hand and a portal opened. This was quicker than taking the stairs and easier on his bad leg.

Within a matter of moments Henry and Ben found themselves standing before the sign to the music department. Ben hissed softly. This floor was just as quiet as the other one. Usually, if Sammy wasn’t on the first floor, he was here playing music. Ben often stood in the hall just to listen to him create such wonderful melodies. Now the looming silence was starting to grate on his nerves.

“Sammy?!” Henry called out as he headed to the music director's office. Ben let his inky veins stretch across the walls and floors as he wandered down the opposite hall. He could feel the ink moving through the pipes all around him but there was no signs of Sammy or the others.

The music department was surprisingly clean. There were no inky puddles with hidden Searchers in them anywhere. This must be Sammy's doing. He always has some control over them. Probably commanded them to stay away for the Alice's benefit. Looks like Norman was serious about making these floors livable. They certainly gave him his own space with respect to the lower levels. Well, most of the time. He still caught the angel wandering down there from time to time.

He stopped in the middle of the hall and concentrated. The inky shadows grew thicker and traveled further, nearly plunging the area in darkness. The ink dripped from the ceiling and ran down the walls. It pooled in the corners and ran down the floors. Even after all of this, he still couldn't sense Sammy. A tinge of worry squirmed in his gut and he hated it. Ben growled deep in his throat as he stretched his abilities to their limit.

The demon didn't like this feeling. Worry. He never experienced anything like it before. In the past, his only concern was for himself. He never thought he'd care about the wellbeing of others. Then he met June and his whole world got turned upside down. The ones he used to prey on became acquaintances. Not necessarily friends, at least not in his eyes, but he could be in the same room with them and not have the urge to attack. He could even ignore the angel's presence. So now he actually found himself concerned about them because he knew June and the girls would be. This feeling was so…strange.

“…en, Ben…BEN!” The demon felt something touch his arm and he rounded on it with a snarl. It was Henry. The old animator was scowling at him. Ben noticed the way the man was rubbing the pentagram in his hand. The veins in his hands and forearms stood out like black streaks of lightning on his skin. Oh, that's right. He had forgotten that Henry had ink in his veins. What he was doing was causing the man some discomfort. The suspicious look Henry was giving him made him angry. He wasn't trying to hurt him on purpose.

Ben's shoulders sagged and he tried to relax. He pulled the inky shadows back. The dark substance began to fade from the floors and walls as light returned to the hall. Henry's body visibly shook with relief. He ran his hand down his sweaty face before glaring at the demon.

“What in the hell was that?!” Henry demanded. Ben hissed at him. He didn't care for his tone of voice. He had no right to demand anything from him.

“ **It wasss nothing**.” The demon growled out.

“Bullshit!” That answer didn’t seem to satisfy Henry. The old animator stood in front of him and stabbed a finger in his direction. “What were you trying to do? It felt like my veins were on fire!” The demon snarled in his face, but Henry refused to budge. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playin', but we don’t have time for this! We need to save June and Bendy!”

Game? This was no game! How dare Henry accuse him of not taking this seriously. Ben could feel his ink boiling. He didn’t need him! He was the demon of Joey Drew Studios. This was his domain! He knew this place like the back of his hand. He could rescue them without his help. Promises be damned! He felt the last of his patience finally snap.

Henry’s eyes grew wide as he watched Ben's smile became manic. The demon took one step towards him and the hairs on the back of neck stood on end. More ink began to run down the demon’s face and his teeth started to chatter. Alarm bells went off in Henry’s head. The air around them grew frigid and Henry could hear his heart thudding in his ears. This was all too familiar.

“Ben. Calm down.” The only response he got was a low, menacing growl. Ben took another step towards him. Henry could see the subtle twitch of the demon's fingers. Henry got flashes of those large hands around his neck as Ben tried to choke the life out of him. Henry's body tensed in anticipation.

Before Ben could do anything, the sounds of foot steps caught both of their attention. The footfalls were quick. Something was running towards them from down the hall.

Henry refused to be caught between the demon and what other horrors the Studio throws at him. He looked around frantically for something to defend himself. He found a broken wooden plank leaning against the wall and wasted no time in picking it up. He raised it over his shoulder and waited as the footsteps got closer. He made sure to keep the hall and demon in his line of sight. No matter how many times he'd been in situations like this, he'd never gotten used to it. His heart always sped up and beat against his chest like a caged animal. The spike in adrenaline saved his life more than once. Things were a little different in that the demon he ran from was standing in the same hall with him and something else was closing in fast. The results were still the same. He wasn't going to let the demon get the drop on him. Not this time.

Henry was ready to swing the piece of wood when Ben lunged towards him and grabbed the plank. The demon wrenched it out of his hands and caused the man to nearly trip over his own feet. Soon he was face to face with a very angry, snarling demon. He held the piece of wood tight enough for it to splinter in his large, gloved hand. Ben leaned in so close that Henry thought he saw cracks forming in his rictus smile.

“ **dOn'T!** ” That one word was said with such force that Henry froze on the spot. He tensed as he half expect the demon to attack him, but he didn’t. Ben simply tossed the plank down the hall just as a figure darted around the corner. Henry took a step back as a dark shape slid to a stop near them.

It was Shadow, the large (and frankly creepy) ink cat that Ben created. The creature pawed at the floor and whined frantically. It even circled them a few times. Henry watched it warily as it moved away and headed back down the hall it just came from. It looked over its shoulder one more time before disappearing around the corner.

“Ben? What’s going on?” The demon huffed and completely ignored him as he followed Shadow down the hall. Henry threw his hands up in frustration. This was starting to get on his nerves. They needed to find June and Bendy. They didn't have time for this! He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He began to wonder if this was such a good idea. Neither one trusted the other and the demon hated for reasons he'll never understand. But at the end of the day, he had no choice. He needed the demon's help. Henry grumbled and ran to catch up to the duo.

The ink cat lead them silently past a few empty rooms until it stopped in front of one in particular. It sat hunched over with its long, whip-like tail wrapped tightly around its legs. Henry even saw a slight twitch in its body as it stared into the room. Something about its posture made Henry’s heart sink. He was sure he wasn't going to like this, whatever it was.

Ben stood silently in the doorway, his hand resting on Shadow's head. It almost looked like he was comforting the creature. Henry wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. June tried to tell him that the demon was changing, but he just couldn’t picture it. He felt that the demon was incapable of change. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe his sister saw something in the demon that he didn't…

Henry approached the doorway cautiously. Shadow turned its head slightly in his direction and moved to give him access to the room. He peaked in, not seeing anything out of the ordinary at first. The room seemed large and dark. The only light came from the hall they were standing in. Most of the furniture were pushed off to the side, leaving the center of the floor empty. That’s when he noticed a generous spattering of ink all over the wooden floor. Among the mess, Henry could barely make out lines that were too uniform to be random. They seemed to form a pattern.

Henry knelt down and gingerly touched one of the lines. The ink was still damp. Whatever this was, it didn't happen that long ago. He could even see what looked like large footprints leading out of the room. A cold chill ran up his spine. He didn’t like this. Henry lifted his hand to stare at the pentagram in his own hand before closing it into a tight, shaking fist. “What’s going on here?”

**OoOoOoOoO**

Henry was here! He was here to rescue them! The little toon was elated when he felt his friend's presence. Things were looking bleak, but he never gave up hope that his friend would come for them. They had a chance to get out of this mess.

Bendy opened his mouth to say something, but quickly changed his mind. Linda didn't know Henry was here and maybe they could use that to their advantage. He could see June curled up on the floor of her cage. His insides twisted at the sight of her cowering near the bars. He needed to reassure her without alerting the crazy lady.

“Aunt June?” She startled at the sudden sound of his voice. She stared at him with wide, watery eyes. “Don't worry! We'll get out of this!” He tried to show her a confident smile, but even he could feel how shaky it was.

“What?” June blinked and rubbed at her red, puffy eyes with the back of her hand. She looked tired and scared. June moved a little but winced and tried to rub her back. Bendy's smile slipped into a frown. That creature must have hit her really hard. It took her awhile to recover from what happened the last time they were here! Linda turned Norman and Sammy into that…that thing. Haven't they all suffered enough?

Bendy often wondered if they would ever be truly free of this place. He never told Henry because the man had enough to worry about. The little toon was tired of looking over his shoulder all the time. Henry wanted to keep the Studio as far from his family as possible. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.

Bendy took a deep breath. He needed to push those dark thoughts to the back of his mind. June needed him. His smile returned. “We'll find a way out of this mess!” She looked confused. He turned his head so he could looked her straight in the eyes.

“Y'know, just like what happened in the sewer…” The little toon winked. June's brow creased and she stared at him for a few seconds before her eyes lit up. If she were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have gone off over her head. She crawled over to the cage door and gripped the bars so tight, her knuckles were white. He could see the excitement and hope dancing in her green eyes.

“Everything is going to be just fine.” Bendy was happy to see that she understood and wasn't giving up. Once Henry shows up and got them out of here, he never wanted to see this place again.

“Oh, I wouldn't count on that.” Bendy nearly jumped out of his skin. He didn't realize Linda was close by. She pulled out three Bendy cutouts from the ink and was setting them up a few feet away from him.

“I'm not through with you yet.” She ordered Norman/Sammy to hide in the tunnel. Bendy didn't know what she was planning, but he knew it couldn't be good.

After making sure the cutouts were in the right position, she picked up the axe, and rested it on her shoulder. Bendy had to tilt his head down enough to see her. Linda stood in back of the cutouts. She had a strangely calm expression on her face. It was almost like she was admiring her work.

“Now…let's see if we can get the demon's attention.” She lifted the axe up high over her head. A look of dark glee played across her face. She brought it down on the cardboard Bendy, cutting it in half.

The little toon grimaced. He knew how much Ben hated having his cutouts destroyed. He'll be so angry, he'll practically run into her trap! He really hoped that Henry will be able to stop him from doing something stupid or they're all in big trouble.

 


	3. Getting to the Heart of the Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Ben and Henry put aside their differences long enough to save their loved ones? There's only one way to find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, you know those warnings I have on this story? They apply to this chapter. Not too explicit, I think. I just want to be on the safe side.

Pain.

The pain sliced through his body as if someone was stabbing him with a knife. Ben stumbled back and screeched, causing Shadow and Henry to take a few steps back. His whole body twitched and he was breathing heavily.

“Ben? What's wrong?” Henry actually sound concerned for him. He must look a sight, shaking and whining like some wounded animal. He hated anyone seeing him like this, especially the old animator. He's probably getting some perverse enjoyment out of all of this.

“ **My cut…outssss**.” His cutouts are apart of him. He can use them to see throughout the Studio. He often used them to spy on Henry as he ran through the halls. His connection with the cardboard images is strong and makes him vulnerable. It's why it hurt so much when the angel tricked Henry into destroying them. That’s why he got so angry. That's why he was out for blood when he finally caught up with the man.

“ **Sssomeone is dessstroying them!** ” Ben growled out. Most creatures knew better than to touch his cutouts unless they wanted to be torn apart. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

The demon began to concentrate. He connected to the images of Bendy, one after another. He tried to find the source of his pain. Down, down, down. One level, then another, his vision jumped from cutout to cutout. Most halls and rooms were empty although there were a few with Butcher Gang clones or searchers milling about. So far, he hadn't encountered anything out of the ordinary.

Just as the pained dulled slightly, it came back in full force. Ben didn't scream this time, but he did fall to one knee. He wheezed and gripped his chest with his gloved hand. He could see Henry moving towards him but he waved him off. He didn't need the old animator's help!

Henry stood back when the demon growled at him. He had no idea breaking those cutouts caused Ben this much pain. No wonder he rushed to the area hell bent on killing him. He knew the demon used the pieces of cardboard as his eyes but he had no idea his connection to them were this strong. It was then that Henry realized that he really didn't know anything about him.

Ben chased the source of his agony, letting his connection lead him below the lower levels. The demon was disturbed by the fact that he had cutouts this far down. He could feel it. He was getting close. Down, down, down…There! He found it.

It was dark at first. Slowly, his vision brightened. There was a large cavern with ink running down its rocky walls. Floodlights cast yellowing light on the surroundings. Broken tools, pipes, old cages and… There, curled up in the bottom of one of the rusted cage was June! She didn't appear to be hurt, but she looked very scared. She was staring in his direction or maybe looking past the cutout…something behind it? He didn't have the ability to turn the cardboard Bendy, but he assumed that the person that kidnapped her was close by.

He could see the little ink spot laying on the ground a few feet away from June's cage. Bendy struggled to get up, but for some reason, he couldn't sit up. The little toon wasn't tied down so Ben couldn't figure out why he wasn't trying to help June. Some unseen force was holding him down?

Ben didn't dwell on Bendy's situation for too long, distracted by the area they were both in. He recognized it. Ink. A sea of ink! Yellowish light bouncing off the rolling mass of dark fluid. He couldn't see the entire cavern because of the way the cutout was angled, but there was no mistake, they were near The Source.

His attention was brought back to June. She was waving her hand frantically and seemed to be yelling something. He couldn't hear what she was saying. Dozens of whispering voices assaulted his senses. She couldn't hear them because she wasn't apart of the ink. Too many voices rising up and speaking at once. It made his head hurt. Whatever was happening was stirring them up even more than usual.

All of a sudden, his vision went black.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

June wasn't sure how the cutouts worked. She assumed that Ben could see through them because of the way Linda set them up. She took great care in making sure their eyes were on Bendy and herself.

She tried to warn Ben to stay away because it was a trap. She screamed in the hoped that he heard her but Linda brought the axe down, destroying the last cutout.

“Nice try Juney.” Linda stared down at the broken pieces of cardboard, admiring her handiwork. “He's going to come anyway. That demon thinks he's the strongest thing down here. His arrogance will be his undoing.”

June slumped down and leaned against the bars. She looked over at Bendy. He continued to struggle against the seal that was holding him down. The toon looked as frustrated as she felt. If Henry is really here, she hoped he'd keep Ben from rushing in and getting himself caught.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

Searing pain lanced throughout his entire body. Ben wrapped his arms around himself as he doubled over. Shadow was at his side in an instant. It whined and pressed its head against his shoulder like it was trying to give him support. Ben appreciated the gesture.

“Ben?” The demon became acutely aware of how close Henry was. He hadn't notice him move and was surprised the old animator sounded so concern. “What's going on?”

Ben tried to get to his feet but was shaking badly. Shadow leaned against his side and he used its shoulders to help himself up. In spite of how skinny and fragile the ink cat looked, it was surprisingly sturdy. It barely budged as he got to his feet.

“Ben?” Henry had moved a little closer and he looked like he wanted to help, but a soft snarl from the demon had him taking a step back. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He was growing tired of Ben's attitude. “What's going on?”

It took a moment for him to get his shaking under control. The pain finally dulled enough that he could stand a little straighter. Henry was glaring at him with impatience written all over his face. If it were any other day, Ben would enjoy making the old man wait, but they didn't have time for that. “ **I sssaw June and Bennndy.** ”

Henry went from annoyed to surprised within a matter of seconds. “Where?!”

“ **Beloww usss**.” Ben patted Shadow on the head as a silent ‘ _thank you_ '. It burbled and gave him some space. It was times like this that he was grateful to June. If she hadn't talked him out of destroying his Shadow, he wouldn't have his companion with him now.

“Below us?” Henry's brow creased. “Somewhere in the lower levels?”

Ben nodded.

Henry stared at the floor as though he could see through the wood. “The carnival area? Or the library?” He looked up to see the demon shaking his head.

The old animator was confused. Where else could they be? A terrifying thought crossed his mind and he really hoped he was wrong. There was only one way to find out. Henry took a shaky breath and steeled himself for the answer. “Are they in the Machine?”

Ben shook his head and Henry visibly relaxed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “ **Belowww the machine.** ”

“Below the Machine?” His hand froze for a second before falling to his side. “There’s something below the Machine?”

Ben nodded. “ **The Source**.” He thought he was the only one that traveled there. Looks like he was wrong. Someone took Bendy and June to lure him there. But why? To what end?

“Source? Source of what?!” Henry was growing more and more agitated.

“ **The Ink**.” Ben watched as the man's eyes grew wide. Looks like he didn't know about that either. The demon wasn't surprised. Very few creatures got that close to the Machine. None would cross that moat to find the passage that lead there.

“Okay, okay, this isn't good…” Henry ran his hand down his face. Ben was fascinated by the fact that the old animator could sound so calm when he was obviously upset. No wonder he was able to bounce back from the things the Studio threw at him.

“Alright, we know where they are. All you have to do is transport us there and-"

“ **We can't**.” Ben stated flatly

Henry sputtered and looked at the demon like he had grown a second head. “What? Why not?!”

Ben turned away and refused to look at the man. “ **I have no control over the ink there.** ” It stung to admit that. The Studio was his domain. Everything in it was under his sway… everything except for The Source. “ **We could be lossst to the void ifff I try to open a portal there.** ”

Henry frowned and opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. Now, Ben was expecting him to yell at him. Accuse him of lying or trying to trick him. Instead, the man started to pace and rub at his chin in thought. He did this for a few seconds and mumbled quietly to himself. Henry stopped suddenly and snapped his fingers. He must have come to some conclusion because a small smile spread across his face.

“I bet the person that set all of this up doesn’t know that. They probably expect you to pop in on them then and there.” Henry looked the demon in his unseen eyes.

“ **I can get use clossse, but we'll have to walk the ressst of the way.** ” There was a spark of determination and a little deviousness in Henry’s eyes. Ben had never seen this side of the man before, but he was beginning to like it.

Henry’s soft smile morphed into a smirk. “Good, we can get the drop on them!” Ben couldn't believe it, but he agreed with him. This little adventure was getting stranger and stranger.

The demon chuckled when Shadow snuck up behind the old animator and startled him. The ink cat could be really quiet when it wanted to be. It pressed its head into the man’s stomach and caused him to stumble a bit.

“Hey, what are you doing?!” Henry squawked. He placed his hands on the creature’s head to keep his balance. Shadow did the closest thing it could to a purr. The old animator stood there in shock and looked up at Ben for an explanation. The demon just shrugged and opened another inky portal.

“Um, okay…good boy! Er girl?” He laughed nervously and pat the large cat on the head. Shadow burbled softly before walking around him and heading into the portal. Henry scratched the back of his head and looked a little confused. Ben waved for him to enter the inky darkness. He stepped into the unknown with the demon at his back.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

The group came out in a dimly lit, surprisingly clean hallway. This section of the Studio was unfamiliar to Henry so he was more than happy to let Ben lead the way. The demon shuffled ahead and he followed at a respectable distance. He looked over his shoulder to see Shadow bringing up the rear.

The creature's head hung low as it slinked quietly behind them. The smile on its face never changed, but its stubby horns twitched and swayed in different directions. It was almost as if Shadow was listening for things that he couldn't hear. It was a little disconcerting to have something bigger than a Great Dane following so close behind him. It didn't help that each step it took barely made the floorboards squeak.

Henry sighed and tried to concentrate on where they were going. The hall was dimly lit and there was a row of closed doors on either side of them. It looked like this might have been more office space. Leave it to Joey to trap his workers in a windowless work environment. He could squeeze more work out of people if they don't know day from night. Henry's bitter thoughts turned to the demon in front of him.

Ben was an enigma to him. His experience with the deadly creature left him and Bendy with nightmares for months. The demon was relentless in the ways it tracked him down, stalked these halls when he hid in the Little Miracle Stations, and came close to killing them. Henry had a hard time seeing Ben as anything but a monster.

He wasn't blind. Henry could see the way the demon acted around his sister and her family. June was still afraid of him, but was still willing to give him a chance. Ben still had bouts of anger that caused him to lash out. His sister often bared the brunt of the demon's violent tendencies and got hurt.

Still, she forgave him and Henry hated it. He hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to protect her when he wasn't around. They couldn't keep him away and there was little comfort in knowing he could come and go as he pleased.

Whenever he was around Ben, it felt like the demon could snap at any moment and take his family away. In fact, they wouldn't be in this mess if he had just stayed away! So here he was, following this demon back into hell to save the ones he loved. If there was a higher power, they must be laughing at him. There’s no way his luck is this bad.

Ben was ill tempered, sinister, and Henry wouldn't trust him as far as he could throw him! And yet, he was somewhat kind to his nieces. He actually took care of a little kitten with the help of his sister. He even managed to play with a bunch of children without hurting anyone. There was no way this demon could be all these things without this being some sort of game. Best case scenario: Ben gets bored and leaves his family alone. Worse case scenario, well, Henry didn't want to think about that. Still, something the demon said back at the house had been bothering him.

“Ben?” The demon looked over his shoulder and grunted. Henry took that as a sign to continue. “Back at the house, when we thought you had something to do with this-" Ben's body grew stiff and his steps were a little stilted. “You said, _“You gave your word.”_ What did you mean?”

Ben huffed and continued walking. It was silent for a good minute. Henry sighed. He guessed the demon wasn't going to answer his question. Ben wasn't making things easy on him, that's for sure.

“ **The children.** ” Henry jumped at the suddenness of the demon's voice. “ **I promisssed not to bring their mother here.** ”

“You really meant that?” He didn't mean to speak aloud and he couldn't keep the astonishment out of his voice. Henry thought the demon was just humoring his nieces.

The effect on Ben was immediate. He stopped in his tracks and turned so fast, Henry didn't have time to stumble back. There faces were inches from one another and the demon was looming over him dangerously.

“ **Of courssse I meant it! I'm not a liar!** ” Ben's fists were raised and shaking slightly. Henry tried to put some space between them but bumped into Shadow. He threw his hands up and tried to defuse the situation.

“Okay, okay, I get it! Just calm down. I don't want to fight you. June and Bendy needs me.” Ben's shoulders slumped and his hands fell to his sides. He sighed, turned, and continued walking. Henry scowled and followed close behind.

“Why are you so angry with me? Whatever Joey told you, you know it's not true, right?” Henry didn’t understand why the demon resented him so much.

Ben chuckled darkly. “ **Of courssse it wasssn't true. Joey wasss a liar after all.** ”

Henry couldn’t believe it! The demon didn’t believe Joey but still tried to kill him? “If you knew he was lying, why did you come after me then?”

They turned a corner and faced another long hallway. There were a few doors on the left side and an open, balcony like area on the right. One quick glance over the edge and Henry was quite surprised. They were above the office area. He remembered getting the pipes he needed to fix the pump and drain the excess ink that lead to the Vault.

The Butcher Gang were a real pain in the ass here. Either he hid or had been chased by them. Out of no where, inky shadows crept across the walls and floors. The Butcher Gang was destroyed before his very eyes. He knew the ink demon was nearby but he didn't see him! He was above them, probably watching him and Bendy the entire time. The thought of that made a shiver run up his spine.

“ **When Joey brought me into thisss world,** ” Henry blinked and looked towards the demon, but Ben was staring over the balcony as well. “ **sssomething didn't feel right. I wasss in pain and I felt…empty**.” He lifted his human hand and placed it over where his heart should be.

“ **He told me he wasss my creator, but he wouldn't or couldn't fix me.** ” Ben waved for them to continue walking. “ **I believed him for a long time until I found your desssk. I sssaw your drawingsss. He lied to me.** ”

So, Ben knew he was his creator and not Joey. He could only imagine the crap his former friend put the demon through. Joey must have spent years lying to Ben's face.

“ **One day, Joey sssaid he wasss inviting you back to the ssstudio. I wasss overjoyed. I jussst knew you could help me.** ”

Henry frowned slightly. “If you needed my help, why did you attack me after I turned on the machine?”

“ **I got a little…excited**.” Ben chuckled. There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “ **I didn't mean to ssscare you, even if it wasss funny.** ”

Henry tsked. He didn't find it amusing. “ **I didn't know the fffloor would give way and you'd fall.** ” Yeah, that was the first of many falls he took down here. It got kinda got annoying after awhile.

“ **I looked for you.** ” Henry was glad Ben couldn't see his face. He just knew the demon would have gotten a good laugh at his shocked expression. “ **I wanted to try again.** ”

“ **So I dessscended, floor by floor, until I found you wandering the hallsss of the musssic department.** ”

That was strange. Henry didn't remember seeing him until after his run in with Sammy. Bendy had saved him before he could be sacrificed to the demon. The little toon was so upset after that.

“ **I wasss going to approach you, but you found…HIM.** ” Ben growled.

The hairs on the back of Henry's neck stood on end. He had a good idea of who he was referring to, but didn't understand why he was so angry.

“ **You found a perfect versssion of who I ssshould have been and bonded with him!** ”

Henry remembered the little toon introducing himself. He was so surprised to see his little devil darlin' alive and talking to him. His friendship with his creation was a saving grace in this gloomy place.

“ **I wasss being abandoned, again.** ” Ben lifted his human hand and seemed to study it. “ **All becaussse I wasssn't perfect…** ” He balled his hand into a tight fist. “ **I wasss so angry. I wanted to hurt you, make you sssuffer for leaving me behind. I wanted to kill you…** ”

This was the final straw. Henry couldn't believe Ben was blaming him for things that were out of his control. He didn't know Joey had brought him to life! He didn't know he was in pain or that he needed help. All Henry knew was that this creature, that looked like a twisted version of Bendy, was trying to kill him. He just wanted to escape with his new friend and live out the rest of his life in peace.

“This is exactly why I don't want you around my sister and her family!” Henry screamed. He had enough of taking the blame for Joey's poor choices. “You could have come to me anyway! You could have told me what was going on.” Ben stopped walking and turned to face him. His ever present smile looked very strained. Henry heard a warning growl from Shadow, but he couldn't stop now! The words just came tumbling out.

“But no, you decided to chase me all around this god forsaken place!” Henry knew he was shouting, but he needed to get this off his chest. “If it wasn't for Bendy, I would have been dead by now!”

Ben straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest. He drummed his gloved fingers against his forearm and tilted his head to the side. Even his smile had a cruel tilt to it.

“ **Bendy…the little ink ssspot.** ” Ben spat the little toon's name out like it left a bad taste in his mouth. “ **How many timesss did he turn on you? Tried to hurt you? Nearly killed you? And yet, you ssstill trussst HIM to be around your family!** ” The demon sneered. “ **But you don't trussst me?** ”

Henry was flabbergasted. “I-what?! That's not the same thing and you know it!”

“ **Why?** ” Ben huffed.

“Because he didn't have any control over what he was doing! We didn't know that the different forms he took caused him to go berserk after awhile…” Henry was gesturing with his hands wildly. “He didn't mean to hurt me!”

“ **And you think I meant to hurt June?** ”

“YES! You damned right I do!” Henry screamed. He spoke before really thinking about it. Ben was the demon of Joey Drew Studios. And just like the man, he didn't care about anyone but himself!

A soft keen caused Henry to look behind him. Shadow was hunched over with its head low and its tail was curled around its legs. Even its stubby ear like horns were pinned flat against its head. It looked upset…

“ **No.** ” Henry faced the demon and he felt his stomach twist in on itself. Ben had the palm of his gloved hand pressed against his head. The ink was running down his face even more and he was shaking his head. “ **I-I didn't mean to harm her.** ”

Henry opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The hurt in Ben's tone made him wince internally. This couldn't be happening…

The demon turned and walked away from him, disappearing around the corner. Henry knew he should follow, but he felt frozen in place. His mind was trying to comprehend what just happened. June had tried to tell him that Ben was changing, but he refused to believe it. All of this had to be a trick! Right? Because if it isn't…then Henry would have to admit that he was wrong all this time.

Henry stumbled when he was pushed from behind. Shadow walked up next to him. It growled softly and tilted its head in the direction of the corner.

“Alright, alright, I'm going.” Henry chuckled and tried to get rid of the weird feeling in his gut. He walked quickly to catch up with Ben. They were going down another long, dimly lit hall with a few locked doors on his right. What got his attention was the slightly foggy, yellowing pane of glass on his left. It stretched the entire length of the hall. He recognized it! He stood on the other side of this glass with Allison and Tom. Henry could actually see through it if he squinted hard enough. If they are here, that means that they’re close to the Machine.

Ben’s body seemed stiff and jerked as he shuffled down the hall. Henry took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He needed to say something because the tension was really thick. He just needed to figure out WHAT to say. Fortunately for him, the demon beat him to the punch.

“ **You know, Joey wasssn't too happy with me when I couldn't kill you.** ” Ben looked over his shoulder as Henry and Shadow got closer. “ **He told me he didn't need me anymore.** ” The old animator frowned at that but the demon just shrugged. “ **That wasss alright. I didn't need him anymore either.** ” The amount of vitriol in that one statement made Henry twitch. He remembered having that much hatred directed towards himself.

“So…is that why you helped us in the end?” Henry had wondered about the demon's change of heart when they faced off against Joey. Looks like his old pal managed to piss off the one person that was still on his side. That really shouldn't have surprised him. It's the reason why he left in the first place.

Ben laughted. “ **Yesss. I even gave Bendy what he needed to leave hisss page jussst to ssspite him**.” Henry got a glimpse of the mischievous grin on the demon's face.

“I never got the chance to thank you for that.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck and looked a little uncomfortable. “So, thank you.”

“ **I wasss fading away.** ” The demon hummed and they continued walking. “ **At leassst one of usss could leave thisss place.** ”

“Fading away…”, Henry whispered. There were a few times where he came close to loosing Bendy. It was terrifying. “Weren't you scared?”

“ **Ssscared?** ” Ben stopped and turned fully to face Henry. “ **I wasss tired and in pain. I welcomed it.** ”

They stared at each other silently for a few moments. The demon turned and lead them through a narrow crevasse in an imposing stone wall. As they made their was out, Henry was faced with a sight he'd hoped he'd never see again, The Machine.

The small group stood near the inky moat while the mechanical behemoth loomed off in the distance. On the one hand Henry was glad they didn't have to go back inside that thing. On the other hand, he didn't know what horrors awaited them below their feet.

“ **That woman…** ”, Ben growled. “ **Ssshe dragged me back from the abysss and threw a collar around my neck!** ” He reached up and rubbed at his throat absentmindedly. “ **Ssshe wanted my ‘help' in exacting her revenge on you.** ”

“ **Sshe hurt me with that thing.** ” Ben's hand dropped to his side and he tilted his head up as though he were staring at something Henry couldn't see.

“ **Then June came along. Ssshe wasss so ssscared but ssshe removed my collar.** ” Ben sounded confused by that.

He sighed and looked down at Henry. “ **Ssshe was ssscared of ME, but ssshe did it anyway…** ” he whispered. He said it like he couldn't believe that someone would go out of their way for him.

“ **Do you know what ssshe asssked for?** ” Henry shook his head cautiously. “ **Ssshe wanted to sssee her children again...** ”

Henry slowly came to a realization that the demon was impressed by his sister's actions. He couldn't believe that one small act of mercy would spawn all of this. Just how rough was it for the ink demon all these years? Henry had never let his thoughts drift in that direction because that would have meant seeing Ben as a victim as well. It meant that he wasn't the monster he made him out to be.

Henry groaned and ran his hand down his face. Maybe, just maybe, June was onto something. He could already hear her gleefully telling him, “ _I told ya so, old man!_ ”. Well, as long as they got out of this mess in one piece, he could put up with a little boasting from her. She earned it.

“Hey Ben?” The demon tilted his head slightly. “When this is all over and we bring them home safely, you and I are going to sit down and have a long talk.”

Ben huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “ **Why?** ” he snarled.

Henry's green eyes drifted off to the side and for just a moment, he looked ashamed. He blinked and stared up at Ben sternly. “Because I want- no, I NEED to know what happened here. What happened…to you.”

The ink demon's arms dropped to his sides and he leaned back. Henry wanted to know about the hell Joey put him through? He actually cared? Was this a bad joke? If it was, he wasn't laughing.

Before Ben could get angry, something June said came back to him. She told him that when he was ready to talk about his past, she was willing to listen. At the time, he didn't want to burden her with his troubled memories. She had done a lot for him already. Now he realized she wasn't the one he really needed to talk to…

Ben shook his head and pointed to an area just left of the Machine. “ **It'sss thisss way**.” He stepped off the stony ledge and into the inky moat.

Henry watched as the demon waded through the ink. Shadow stood next to him. It looked up at the old animator with its head tilted slightly.

“Well, he didn't say ‘No'. I'll take what I can get.” Henry chuckled. Shadow rubbed its cheek against his side and murmured softly. He patted it on the head. “Let's catch up to him before he leaves us behind.”

Henry stepped off the edge and into the frigid ink. The stuff sent a shiver up his spine. He hated the way it soaked into his clothes. A soft splash let him know that Shadow wasn't too far behind. A quick glance over his shoulder made him chuckle. The ink came all the way up to the poor creature's shoulders and it had to raise its head to be seen.

They managed to catch up with Ben just as he stepped out of the moat and through an opening in the cave wall. Henry could see how he missed this. It was well hidden. The opening and passageway was somewhat narrow and the lights that was strung up in the ceiling were very dim. They did little to bring attention to this particular entrance plus he was kind of in a hurry to stop Joey. He was waiting for them inside the Machine. It's not like he had a reason to come this way anyway…

Even though he couldn't see it, Henry could feel the gentle slope of the cave floor. Couple that with the fact that the ink wasn't as deep but rushed past them let him know that they were heading downward. How far down, he wasn't sure.

Every once and awhile, Henry's foot would brush against discarded equipment like broken picks and shovels. He even saw a few miner’s hats. He grimaced as he remembered the searchers that attacked Tom, Allison, Bendy, and himself. Some of them wore those hats. Could they have been former construction workers? Did they loose their lives here and it was covered up? The thought of that made him sick.

As they made their way through the narrow tunnel, the pentagram in his right hand began to throb erratically. Henry rubbed his hands together to alleviate his discomfort. It wasn't working. In fact, he could feel the ink moving through his veins. It tugged at his insides and even his heart was beating faster.

Something was seriously wrong. He usually felt like this when Ben chased him through those ink filled halls, but the demon wasn't doing anything. In fact, even he seemed to be having a hard time as well. Ben’s body twitched with each step he took. Henry looked back to see Shadow struggling too. He could see the muscles in its shoulders and back jumping under its inky flesh. The poor creature whined loudly.

“ **Don't get ssswept away by the ink.** ” Henry was confused. “ **You must fight itsss pull or you will be lossst**.”

“Swept away…” At first he wasn't sure what Ben meant but he could feel it. The gentle but insistent pull on his very being. Henry could hear the whispers of the ink around him. They were beckoning him to join them, to melt into them, to become apart of them…NO! Henry growled and shook his head. He needed to save June and Bendy. He won't leave this place without them!

Henry breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the end of the tunnel. That relief turned to dread when they came out to a large cave. There was more of that strange ink running down the walls. It dripped from the sharp stalactites that hung from the ceiling. Pools of the dark substance gathered in the corners leaving patches of stony ground untouched. Large floodlights embedded into the walls cast the entire cave in yellowing light. It gave the surface of ink a gold shimmer. It would have been quite beautiful if he didn't know how dangerous the stuff was.

More broken equipment, cracked boulders, and rubble littered the ground. There were huge pipes emerging from the walls. Henry could hear the ink chugging through them as it got drawn away to the Machine. Why did Joey make so much of this stuff?

“ **There.** ” Ben pointed to the exit. It looked like it lead to another cave. The light was a little brighter there and Henry felt his hopes soar. They were getting close. All they had to do was grab June and Bendy, then get away from this strange ink so Ben could transport them home.

Henry nodded sharply. “Lets go!”

The group moved quickly but cautiously. They made it about halfway across the cave when a bright, red light nearly blinded him. Henry threw his hand up to shield his eyes. There was something sitting in the entranceway ahead of them, something big! He squinted to get a better look, but Ben and Shadow were growling lowly.

The figure began to move. There was a loud clicking sound coming from the source of the light. It put Henry on edge. Two large hands shot out and gripped the cave walls on either side of the entrance. As it heaved its body forward, a second pair of hands came into view. They were gnarled and tipped with long claws. As the creature lumbered towards them, Henry spotted something familiar and it made his heart sink.

A projector with a cracked lens sat atop the creature's massive shoulders. The clicking wasn't coming from a speaker that should be in its chest, but sharp teeth that were protruding from it.

“It can't be…” Henry whispered. Memories of his fight with Brute Boris came flooding back. He remembered how heartbroken he was to see his friend Frankenstein together from different materials that Alice managed to throw together. This-This was so much worse.

“ **Norman…Sssammy…** ” Ben sounded just as surprised as he was. Deep down, Henry hoped he was wrong, but the demon confirmed his fears. Why would someone do this to them? Where was Alice? Did she have something to do with this?

Answers would have to wait. The creature raised its arms and hunched over. Henry knew it was going to charge them at any moment. They needed to get past them in order to save June and Bendy, but that didn't make him feel any better.

“I'm sorry. I wish there was another way…” The pentagram in his hand glowed brightly as the ink moved through his veins. It seeped through his skin and coated his hands, arms, and part of his chest. Some of the ink from the ground coated his legs. Henry could feel the ink creeping across the whites of his eyes before some of it flowed down the side of his face. The red light from the projected seem to dim somewhat as everything around him took on a yellowish tinge. He grimaced as his canines elongated until they poked through his lips.

Henry growled as he raised his massive, ink covered fists. Shadow stood on his left while Ben stood to his right. The demon's human hand had grown sharp claws that he brandished at the amalgamation of their friends.

The cave grew quiet as each group stared each other down. Even the whispering voices from the ink grew quiet as though they were anticipating the up coming battle. The tension in the area was so thick, it made it hard to breathe.

Finally, the silence was broken when Norman/Sammy let loose a deafening roar that shook the cave walls. Henry and Ben answered the creature's roar with ones of their own as the hulking beast charged them!

* * *

 

June gasped and covered her ears as a terrible sound echoed through the cavern. She almost curled up on the floor of her cage. That god awful noise rattled her insides. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was very unnerving. June could see Bendy shaking on the ground. The poor toon couldn't raise his hands to block out the sound.

“That sneaky son of a bitch!” Linda shouted. “I was wondering what was taking him so long. Heh, looks like I underestimated him.”

June watched as the crazed woman grabbed her axe and rushed out the cavern. She waited a few seconds before getting Bendy's attention. “Is he here?” she whispered.

The little toon giggled and dazzled her with a brilliant smile. “Yup, and I bet Ben is with him too. Boy, is she going to be surprised!”

Bendy sounded so confident. It raised June's hopes that they would be saved. She knew her brother would stop at nothing to get to them and she was glad Ben was with him. She prayed that they could handle Norman/Sammy even though the thought of that made her incredibly sad. They didn't deserve this. None of them did. Maybe there was a way to save them too.

* * *

 

Linda was ecstatic. She was finally going to get what she wanted. All of this careful planning was finally going to bare fruit. She will be free and hit Henry where it hurts. He'll never see his sister again!

She gripped the axe tightly in her hands as she snuck down the tunnel. The growls and screeches were getting louder. It sounded like the demon was putting up a real fight! It didn't matter. He would be overwhelmed by the combined strength of Norman and Sammy.

Red and yellow lights danced against the nearest cave wall. Linda quickly ducked behind a large boulder so she wouldn't be seen. With her back pressed against the rock, she took a few deep breaths, and steadied her nerves. She peeked around the boulder…

* * *

 

It became very apparent that the creature was out to get Ben. They ignored Henry and Shadow and went straight for the demon. They threw punches with their meaty hands and tried to claw at him with the skinnier ones. It was a flurry of movements that kept Ben off balance. He could barely block a shot when another pair of hands grabbed him and knocked him to the ground.

They lifted their large foot with the intent of stomping on Ben’s chest, but they never got the chance. Henry and Shadow jumped in front of him. The ink cat ran around the amalgamation's legs, clawing, and pushing to distract them. Henry punched at their sides with his ink covered fists. The creature grunted and tried to snap at him with the sharp teeth in their chest.

Henry dodged and grabbed one of the teeth. He pulled until he yanked one out. The ink that sprayed out of the wound would have blinded him had he not turned his head in time. The creature howled in pain and stumbled back. Shadow and Henry used this as an opportunity to rally around Ben.

* * *

 

Ben wasn't expecting the creature to hit as hard as it did. He had gotten into fights with Norman before and always came out on top. This was different. He was practically fighting two ink creatures at once. They were surprisingly fast for something their size. When they grabbed him and sent him to the floor, his head hit the ground hard and he could barely see straight.

The room was swimming and by the time he saw the massive foot hovering above his chest, he didn't have enough time to defend himself. He braced himself for the blow when Henry and Shadow jumped in! The duo managed to push the creature back, giving him enough room to get to his feet.

Ben rolled to his hands and knees. He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. He froze when a large, ink covered hand was thrust in his face. It was Henry. The old animator was trying to help him up. Ben growled and was temped to slap the man's hand away. He wasn't weak. He didn't need his help!

“ **C'mon Ben, we’re so close!** ” Henry's eye glowed brightly and the seriousness of his tone gave the demon pause. “ **We can do this!** ”

Henry was right. All they had to do was get past this creature and then nothing could stop them from bringing June and Bendy home. Ben could swallow his pride if it meant ensuring their safety. Besides, Henry wasn't berating him or making fun of him for getting beaten. He wanted to work together to save their loved ones.

He wasn't used to accepting help from anyone, let alone the man he…hated? Ultimately, he took Henry's hand and was pulled to his feet. They both stared at each other and an unspoken agreement was made. They turned to face the obstacle in their way.

Ben squared his shoulders and flexed his claw. He couldn't turn into a massive ink monster like Bendy, but he was no slouch when it came to a fight. He'll tear through this abomination and anyone else that dared get in their way.

* * *

 

She couldn't believe it. Henry was here and he was working WITH the demon and his pet! Not only that, but they were giving her creature a run for their money. She was sure they could take the demon if he were alone, but Henry and that damned cat kept getting in the way!

Linda was fuming. Henry was ruining her plans, again! She watched as her creature was being attacked on all sides. If this kept up, she was going to loose this battle and her chance at freedom. She needed to do something quick. Linda mentally gave her amalgamation orders to attack Henry and the ink cat as well. She grumbled and stormed back down the tunnel.

* * *

 

June watched as Linda came stomping back into the cavern. The woman looked like she was ready to murder someone as she glared daggers at her and Bendy.

“I don't believe this! Henry is here…” Linda was gnashing her teeth. The way it pulled at the ruined side of the angel's face, it made June wonder if the skin would split.

Linda gripped the axe tightly in one hand and pulled at her hair with the other. She paced back and forth and mumbled to herself. A high pitched screech caused her to stomp her foot and scream back angrily. The longer this went on, the more worried June got. She was afraid Linda was going to snap and do something drastic.

“How can he be here?” She stopped pacing and stared off into the distance. “They hate each other. They should be killing one another. I-I don't understand…”

“Of course you don't!” Bendy shouted. He was scowling at the false angel.

“What?”

Bendy struggled against his invisible bonds. “You don't know nothin'!”

June called out to the little toon. She didn't like the way Linda was staring at him. All of her focus was on Bendy as she walked over to him. She crouched down near his head as she rested the axe in her lap. It was like an owl watching a mouse as it ran across a field. Watching its prey unblinking as it got ready to strike.

“Oh really.” She pressed a single finger against the little toon's forehead. Bendy squirmed but couldn't move away. “Why don't you enlighten me.”

“If ya thought Henry was going to sit back and let us be kidnapped, ya must be crazy lady!” he snarled at her. Bendy stared back into her eye fearlessly.

Linda's expression changed. She didn't look angry anymore. In fact, she looked entirely too calm.

“You knew he was here.” It wasn't even a question. She stated it as fact. “That bond you share… You felt him as soon as he got here?”

“Of course I did!” The little toon smirked. “No way in heck I was tellin' you.”

“Heh, that was rather clever of you.” Linda stood up and walked around Bendy until she was standing at his feet. She tapped the head of the axe against her leg. “And here I thought you were helpless. I won't make that mistake again.”

“Linda?” June moved to the door of the cage. She gripped the bars until her knuckles turned white. Linda spread her legs apart slightly and began to raise the axe above her head. “LINDA STOP!” June's blood ran cold. She could do nothing to stop what was about to happen.

Linda’s empty eye socket glowed blood red and she gave June the side eye. She smiled so wide it looked manic. “Time to level the playing field.”

She brought the axe down in one swift motion and buried the head deep into Bendy's chest. It happened so fast that the little toon didn't have time to scream. His pie cut eyes were blown wide and his mouth hung open.

Linda fell to her knees. She gripped the head of the axe and pushed it deeper into his chest. She adjusted her grip on the handle and pulled the axe down leaving a deep gash from Bendy's chest to his belly. The sound it made caused June to retch. Like a dull knife cutting through wet meat. That shouldn't be possible. Bendy was a toon. He was made of ink! He can't…he can't be hurt! Not like this…

June looked up in time to see Linda reaching into Bendy's chest. His entire body jerked as the woman dug into him. The toon gagged as ink welled up in his non existent throat and dribbled out the side of his mouth.

June reached through the bars and yelled for Linda to stop. She was killing him! The woman just scoffed and continued rooting through Bendy's insides.

“Now, where are you?” She was nearly wrist deep inside the toon's chest. Ink was gurgling out and pooling onto the ground around them. “Aha! Here it is…”

Linda's hand closed around something and she pulled. Bendy's back arched as she gave one last mighty tug. It looked like she pulled a glob of thick ink out of his body. He collapsed to the ground, choking on his own ink, and his eyes glazed over. Linda stood up and studied the prize in her hand. She chuckled and walked towards June.

Linda held it out for her to see. The glob of ink pulsed in her hand. June thought it sounded like-like a heartbeat. The ink melted away until Linda was holding, what looked like a small heart. It was yellowish and it looked like it was made of papier-mâché. It continued to beat softly.

“So, this is what the heart of a toon looks like.” Linda said gleefully. She brushed her fingers across it as though it were made of glass. “It's quite beautiful.”

June stared at the little heart as its beats grew slower and slower. Bendy’s mouth was open as though he wanted to say something, but couldn't. Every time he tried, more ink spilled from the corners of his mouth. His body twitched and shuddered with every painful cough he took.

“B-Bendy…sweetheart?” She watched as the little toon's body grew very still. Even though his eyes were wide open, June could see ink welling up in the corner of his eye and running down the side of his face.

“I'm sorry…” she whispered. “I'm so so sorry…” The cavern grew quiet as the small heart took its final beat. Bendy's eyes closed slowly and June watched in horror as his body began to melt. Within a matter of seconds, his body was reduced to a puddle of ink that ran across the rocky ground. It slid into the inky sea and vanished.

June broke down. She fell to her knees. The rust from the cage floor dug into her skin. She barely notices. Her vision blurred by the tears flooding her eyes. She wrapper her arms around herself and sobbed. Her nephew was gone! She just stood there and watched as Linda tore his heart out! She had never felt so powerless in her life.

“Aww, don't worry _Juney_. Henry will be joining you shortly.” Linda placed the little heart in an upturned miner's helmet that was sitting on top of a wooden crate. She walked over to where Bendy's body had been, picked up her discarded axe, and headed for the tunnel. She left June to cry with a satisfied smirk on her face.

* * *

 

It hit Henry like a freight train. A fear so overwhelming that it caused him to stumble during the fight. That was Norman/Sammy's opportunity to hit him with a powerful uppercut. The blow set him sailing through the air. He landed hard with a sickening thud.

The feeling of fear rattled him to his very core. Just as Henry was about to prod his end of the bond, the feeling changed to something that disturbed him even more: Anguish. Henry had never felt something like this from his friend before. He needed to get off his back and find Bendy and June, NOW!

Henry tried to sit up, but he didn't feel right. Numbness began to spread slowly throughout his body. The ink that incased parts of his arms and legs began to sloth off. He quickly realized that he lost control over the ink. It could no longer protect him!

A massive roar shook the cave, causing some of the stalactites to break from the ceiling and fall to the ground. The amalgamation was heading right for him. It stormed towards him at such speeds that Henry knew he couldn't get out of the way in time.

There was a blur of motion to his right and something slammed into Norman/Sammy's side. It was Shadow. The ink cat body slammed the creature, sending them careening off to the side and crashing into a large boulder.

A pair of long arms slid under Henry's shoulders and through his armpits. He was lifted up with little effort then quickly the ink covered arms wrapped around his midsection. Ben had picked him up and was carrying away from Shadow and the amalgamation.

The demon dragged him back and pressed his back against the cold, stone wall. Ben knelt down in front of Henry. He put his gloved fingers under the man's chin and lifted his head. He leaned in close and seemed to be studying Henry's face.

“ **Your eyesss…** ” Henry was too weak to pull away. He could barely feel Bendy's emotions anyone. The last thing he felt from the little toon caused him to panic. It was regret. The emotion lasted for just a moment before it faded away. “ **Henry, what'sss wrong?** ”

Henry's brows creased as he concentrated. The bond grew silent. He couldn't feel anything from his friend. Henry searched and searched, but he felt nothing! It wasn't like the bond was being blocked by the little toon. The few times Bendy did that, Henry could still sense him. It was like a soft buzzing in the back of his head. This felt different. The bond was empty. It was as if…

“Bendy…I can't find him. I don't- I don't feel his presence anymore!” Henry knew he was hyperventilating, but he couldn't help it. It felt like a heavy weight sat on his chest. It was getting harder to breathe. “The bond…I can't…he's not…” Bendy couldn't be gone! Ever since they met, they've been inseparable. He just couldn't be…

Screeches and growls echoed through the cavern. It caused both Henry and Ben to look towards the sound.

Norman/Sammy was throwing punches at Shadow, but the ink cat dodged. It jumped out of the way just as a massive fist crashed into the ground. Its rictus smile cracked open to reveal two rows of sharp, yellow teeth. Long, yellow claws unsheathed from its large inky paws. It hissed lowly and leapt at the creature's thick arm.

Shadow hopped onto the amalgamation's shoulder, then their back. It opened its mouth wide and bit down on the wires that connected the projector to the creature's back. It dug its claws into their shoulder and yanked the wires out.

Norman/Sammy screamed. Ink spurted from the broken wires and the wounds left on their back. They twisted and tried to grab Shadow, but it moved just out of their reach. It continued to tear more wires out and evaded the creature's massive hands.

Ben turned back to Henry. He wasn't looking so good. He was breathing heavily and looked very pale. The ink in his veins were standing out against his skin. His eyes lost their glow, were slightly unfocused, and they glistened with unshed tears.

Ben reached out and took Henry's right hand. The pentagram no longer glowed. The old animator no longer had control over the ink in his body. The dark substance was settling in his veins and weighing his body down. Ben could even hear how sluggish his heart beat. The bond was thoroughly broken. The little ink spot must be… and June…

“He can't be gone! He just can't…" Henry gasped and the tears rolled down his cheeks. “If-If something happened to him, where’s June?! Is-Is she…” He shuddered and shut his eyes.

Ben didn't know what to say. He was not the being you came to for inspiring words or comfort. That was Bendy's job. The little ink spot was always good at raising people's spirits. All he ever did was scare and hurt people. The demon was totally out of his depth.

* * *

 

Shadow’s screech echoed through the cavern. A large hand caught it by its leg. Norman/Sammy pulled the ink cat off their shoulders and slammed it into the hard ground. Shadow whimpered and tried to get to its feet when the creature grabbed it by its neck and hips.

 

They lifted the cat over their projector and tossed it across the cave. Shadow's legs flailed as it flew through the air. It slammed into the wall, causing the stone to crack as it fell to the floor in a boneless heap.

* * *

 

Ben took a shaky breath and his entire body twitched. He felt that impact. Shadow was still alive, but it was hurt and out cold. He could see the amalgamation stumbling their way. He needed to do something quickly or they had no chance of saving June.

Before he stood up, Ben gripped Henry's shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. The man opened his eyes and looked up at the demon in mild shock. “Ben?”

The demon wasn't good with words. He couldn't sell you a dream like Joey or inspire hope like Bendy. That wasn't who he was, but he would do everything in his power to help his…his friends. That train of thought really surprised him. He always felt he was incapable of such things. Looks like he was wrong. He needed to get them out of this alive so he could tell June. She would be so proud of him.

Ben gave Henry a sharp nod. He stood up and charged towards the creature. Norman/Sammy staggered back when the demon punched them in the gut. Both beings began trading blows as one tried to overwhelm the other.

* * *

 

Henry could do nothing but watch as Ben clawed and punched the amalgamation. He couldn't believe he was pinning all his hopes on the ink demon. He was actually putting his trust in the thing that tried to kill him just a few months ago. As crazy as all of this was, Henry had faith that they could pull this off.

 _‘Hold on Juney, we're coming!’_ he thought. He also prayed that Bendy was alright. If he wasn't, they would find some way to help him. He wasn't about to give up on his friend.

As Ben took on the creature, Henry thought he saw something move from his right. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. When he looked towards the exit, nothing was there.

It must have been a trick of the light. The creature's projector was casting shadows all over the place. It was disorienting.

Just as Henry started to relax, he saw movement again. Someone or something was hiding by a small rocky outcropping. He squinted to get a better look. At first, all he could make out was the silhouette of the thing as it inched away from its hiding spot. It appeared to be a woman and she seemed to be holding something in her hand.

Henry's heart stopped when the light hit the figure just right. Long black hair, horns, a halo embedded into her skull, and a smile that stretched the ruined part of her face.

“Alice?” Henry gasped. She was responsible for all of this! But why? He thought she had reconciled with the demon. She harbored no ill will against his family. So why was she doing all of this?

He got a better look at what she held in her hands. It was an axe. The light glinted off the metal as she raised it over her head. She waited for the demon to turn his back to her. Alice took two hesitant steps forward before rushing towards Ben.

“BEN!” Henry shouted at the top of his aching lungs. The demon turned just in time to see the crazed angel. The axe glinted dangerously in the light as she swung downward.

Ben managed to step back, but wasn't fast enough. The axe barely missed his head and buried itself deep into his upper chest with a sickening crack. She let go of the handle and let the demon staggered back.

Ben didn't scream. He just stared at the angel then down at the axe like he couldn't believe she did that. He was so surprised by what Alice had done, he didn't hear Norman/Sammy come up behind him. The large creature wrapped all four of its arms around Ben. He was immobilized and at the angel's mercy.

Alice sauntered up to the demon. He growled wetly at her. Trickles of ink began to run down the corners of his mouth. She just laughed at him. The angel got closer. One hand rested on the axe handle and the other rubbed the demon's cheek. The look she gave Ben was chilling.

Henry could see what she was about to do, but was powerless to stop her. Her hand slipped from Ben's cheek and landed on the axe head. She pushed it in deeper. The demon threw his head back and screamed. The sound caused Henry to cringe.

Alice gripped the wooden handle with both hands and pulled it down. Oh god, she was slicing through his chest! It made a wet, cracking sound and Henry realized that she was cutting through bone! He had always assumed that Ben was made of solid ink like Bendy and that his skeletal look was just for show. But no, he could see something white poking through his inky skin.

The angel pulled the axe out and let it fall to the floor. She reached into the left side of his chest and spread the demon's ribs. Henry couldn't raise his hands to cover his ears. He wanted to block out the horrible sounds of Ben screaming and bones cracking. She giggled as she reached into the broken ribcage and pull something out.

Henry's vision was a little blurred. At first it looked like she was holding a glob of thick ink. The longer he stared at it, the more familiar the shape became. It was large and a little misshapen. It pulsed in her ink stained hands. It was a heart. Henry could even hear it beating.

Ben stopped screaming and he grew limp in the creature's arms. Alice ordered them to let the demon go. They dropped him. Ben fell to his knees. His head was bowed and his arms laid at his sides. Ink poured from his open chest until he was sitting in a pool of his own fluids.

“Who would have guessed a soulless creature like yourself actually had a heart.” Alice scoffed. She held it up and examined it. She squeezed the ink heart in her hand as it beat, slower and slower. It was like it was struggling against her grip.

It looked like she was going to say something else when Ben's gloved hand shot up and grabbed her by the throat. Slowly and painfully, he got to his feel. He loomed over her and growled. The demon's smile was gone, replaced with a large open mouth filled with long, sharp, yellowing teeth. The ink ran down his face and there was a flash of light. There was a violet orb floating in a sea of black darker than the ink that made up his body. It was Ben's eye! He stared down at the angel balefully.

Alice wasn't afraid. In fact, she was smiling. “Did you really think you could hold me in that glass prison forever?”

Ben pulled the angel closer. The violet light reduced to a mere pinprick and he tilted his head slightly. Henry could see the smirk that pulled at the ruined side of her face.

“ **YOU?!** ” the demon bellowed. His jaws snapped a few inches from her face.

“Don't be so angry. You're going to thank me when this is over.” The angel laughed in the demon’s face. “I'm going to give you the one thing you've always wanted!” Alice sneered. “I'm going to make you whole.”

A shark crack rang out as Ben's elbow snapped. His forearm separated from upper arm. Only strands of ink connecting the two pieces. The gloved hand still hung around Alice's neck before the fingers loosened and it fell to the floor. He stumbled back. The ink ran down his body in rivet and formed a growing pool at his feet. The demon's legs began to shake until his knees gave out with a moist crunch.

Alice held up Ben's heart. The time between beats grew longer. It was only a matter of time before it stopped.

The demon's eye swiveled in Henry's direction. The man saw something in that stare. Fear. Ben was actually afraid. This was the first time Henry had ever seen the ink demon afraid. If he wasn't scared when he was fading away the first time, then something was very wrong. Ben blinked and the fear was replaced with a silent plea. A plea for forgiveness.

Henry's breath hitched. Between Bendy's regret and this, it was hard for him not to fall apart. How could two different beings express the same sentiments. Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket and he couldn't do a damn thing!

The heart in Alice's hand gave one final beat. Ben threw his head back and let loose a terrible screech. His mouth grew wider and wider until his lower jaw snapped off. The rest of his body began to melt down…and soon, he was gone.

A feeling of dread settled like a lead weight in Henry's stomach. Ben was gone. Alice ripped out his heart and he just…just faded away. If she did this to him, did that mean that-that Bendy was…dead? But, that was impossible! Toons can't die! A little voice in the back of his mind reminded him that Boris had died, several times.

The sounds of heavy footsteps alerted him to Alice's presence. She stood a few feet from him with Norman/Sammy standing behind her. The light from their projector was dim enough for Henry to see the crooked smile on her face.

“Wow Henry,” she giggled. “You're not looking so good.”

“Where…” he grimaced at his horse tone of his voice. He had to swallow a few times to get rid of the dryness in his throat. “Where…is…June…and…Bendy?”

Alice shook her head and held up Ben's heart. “C'mon Henry. I think you know what happened to your little pet demon.”

Henry hung his head. A few more tears slipped down his cheeks. He knew. Deep down, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he knew his friend was gone. He took a few shallow breaths and looked up at the angel.

“Why are you doing this?” Henry was glad his voice sounded stronger than he felt.

Alice stood there with one hand on her hip. She held the heart loosely at her side in the other. The shadows cast across her face made her smile look crueler than usual.

“It's simple really. I want my freedom. I refuse to spend the rest of my unnatural life in this dump.” Henry thought he saw a reddish glow in her empty eye socket. “The demons had what I needed.” She pointed to him and smiled. “You and your sister is just a nice little bonus.”

Henry groaned. June didn't deserve this. She had an entire family waiting for her. She was in this mess because of him. He'd do anything to get her out of here, but from the look on Alice's face, she was in no mood to negotiate.

“Don't look at me like that!” Alice snapped. “I'm quite merciful. I'll let you be with you sister before I sacrifice you both.” She laughed humorlessly. “That's more than you gave me and Jojo.”

“Jojo?” Henry's brows shot up. He had never heard Alice call Joey that before. In fact no one that worked at the studio called him that. There was only one person he knew that called him that and got away with it. “No…Linda?”

The angel knelt close to him. She reached out and caressed his cheek. Her cold hands made his skin crawl.

“Hey, you finally figured it out. Good for you!” She giggled at his shocked expression. “Don't look so surprised. You know nothing stays dead down here.” Linda patted him on the cheek before standing back up.

She dusted of the end of her dress and turned to the creature looming behind her. “Grab Henry and the demon's pet. Bring them to the shore.”

Linda turned back to him. She stared at him with barely concealed joy.

“We’ve got a god to invoke!”

 


	4. The Beast Below the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linda had done it. She's got the keys to her freedom and she will finally have her revenge on the man that took her brother from her. It's time to make her dreams come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just stick with me a little longer guys. I swear, the payoff will be worth it!

Any hope she had of escaping their situation was crushed as soon as Linda returned to the cave. The creature lumbered behind her, holding an unconscious Henry and Shadow in their arms.

Linda walked up to the cage June was in just as the amalgamation dropped Henry on the ground. She grimaced as she noticed her brother was laying near the spot where Bendy had been. The little toon's ink still coated the rocky ground.

“Look at this Juney!” Linda held up a black heart. It looked almost like a human heart except that parts of it looked malformed. “Hard to believe that monster actually had a heart.”

June stared at the inky organ in Linda's hands and she felt a pang in her own heart. Ben lost his life trying to save Bendy and herself. Both Bendys were gone. It looked like there was no way out of this for them.

Linda pulled out a set of rusty keys and opened the cage door. The false angel pointed towards Henry. “I'll let you be with your brother until I get things ready. Don't try anything or I'll kill him here and now.”

June glared at Linda. She just knew the woman wouldn't hesitate to kill Henry before her eyes. If this was going to be their last moments together, she wanted to spend as much time together as possible. So she rushed out of the cage and ran to her brother's side.

Linda ordered Norman/Sammy to toss Shadow into the cage. It was still unconscious when its body hit the rusty floor. Once she locked the door, she told the amalgamation to stand near the siblings.

Henry's eyes were closed and his breathing was very shallow. June could see the dark veins in his hands, arms, and near his temples. He looked like he was knocking on death's door. It scared June. She had never seen him like this before.

June sat next to him and slid an arm under his shoulders. She managed to lift him up just enough to rest his head in her lap. He had tear tracks running down his dirty cheeks and a grimace on his face.

“Henry? Henry, c'mon open your eyes!” She shook his shoulders. He was always the strong one between the two of them. He's the one that always stayed calm while she was freaking out. She didn't want to do this alone.

“Please, please, please-" June whispered. Tears were blurring her vision. “open your eyes! I-I need you…” her voice hitched and she tried to wipe at her eyes with the back of her hand.

After a moment of silence, Henry began to stir. He moaned and that was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. His face scrunched up as though he were in pain, then his eyes opened slowly. His stare was slightly unfocused. He blinked a few times before his soft green eyes landed on her.

“Hey June-Bug.” His voice was very raspy. “Don't cry…” They might die at any moment and he didn't want her to cry. Unbelievable.

June sobs dissolved into a small giggle. “Don't scare me like that old man! I thought I lost you.”

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. “Sorry Juney.” The melancholy in his voice made her heart ache. She knew he wanted to say so much more. She sniffled and told him he had nothing to apologize for. All this craziness wasn't his fault and she wouldn't let him face it all alone.

Henry struggled to sit up so June helped him. A red light flickered from behind them. The amalgamation stood close enough to touch them. They hissed, letting them know not to try anything.

It looked like it took all his strength to get into a sitting position. Henry slumped forward and was breathing heavily. This really worried June. She didn't know what was going on with him.

“He's gone.” Henry's voice sounded so hollow. “He's really gone. I can't…feel his presence anymore.” She didn't know what to say. The image of Bendy getting his heart torn out will haunt her forever. She was glad he wasn't there to see that.

June leaned against his back and wrapped her arms around him. From the way his body shook, she knew he was crying. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she felt his hand on her arm. They didn't need to say a word. Whatever happens, they’ll face it together.

An ear piercing screech startled them both. It came from behind them. Shadow was awake and it was angry. It paced the confines of the cage like a wild animal. Ink ran down its body and coated the rusty cage floor.

June was shocked by the state it was in. Its entire body was wasting away before her very eyes. It looked so emaciated, she wondered where it found the strength to stand, let alone move. The ink that covered its eyes was gone. June saw large, oval eyes that blazed a brilliant shade of violet. Ben's eye color…

What really made a chill run down her spine was the fact that its smile was gone. Shadow’s upper jaw was full of sharp, yellow teeth. The lower jaw…was gone. There was just a black gaping hole in its place. Strands of ink hung stubbornly to the upper jaw. Every time it swung its head, it dripped more ink onto the cage floor.

“How are you still here?” Linda whispered. “You should have disappeared along with your master!”

Shadow's head whipped in her direction. Linda jumped back when it slammed its body against the cage door. In a flash, it managed to swipe at her through the gap in the bars. Four yellow claws grazed her upper arm, causing Linda to stumble back. She grabbed her arm and June could see four gashes in her skin. Ink began to ooze from the wound.

“HOW DARE YOU!?” Linda screamed. She turned her baleful gaze to Henry and June. “You let this…THING play with your children?” She tsked and shook her head. “Juney, you are a terrible mother.”

June didn't pay her any attention. She was shocked. Shadow had always been calm and gentle. The girls dressed it up for pretend tea parties, Cloudy would pounce on its tail, and she even caught Bendy riding on its back once or twice. Not once did it growl or hiss at them. It just sat there and let them play. It didn't even raise a paw to them.

What was left of Shadow's horns twitched and it turned its violet eyes towards her. They stared at each other. June felt horrible about what happened and she understood. Ben was gone and Linda was responsible. Its hatred of her was the only thing that kept it going.

“I'm sorry.” June whispered. She shouldn't have been surprised that it heard her. Shadow's horns pinned back and it lowered its head. It gurgled softly, ink dripping from its upper jaw.

“Disgusting.” Linda spat out. Shadow growled lowly and launched itself at the cage door. It rattled but held. The large cat actually stood up on its hind legs, gripping the bars with one paw, and swiping at her with the other. Linda just smirked. She knew she was out of its reach.

“Why?” Henry spoke suddenly. His voice sounded really weak. He seemed to be transfixed by the inky sea that stretched before them. “Why did you produce so much ink, Joey? What was… the point of all of this?”

Linda shook her head and walked away from the cage with a scowl on her face. She stood by shore and stared off into the distance.

“He didn't create all of this.” She waved a hand at the rolling mass of dark fluid. “It’s always been here, he just found it and figured out how to use it.”

“What?” Henry drew his attention away from the ink and was looking at Linda now. “He found ink flowing under the building?” He sounded incredulous. June couldn't blame him.

“Oh c'mon Henry!” Linda cruel laughter echoed throughout the cavern. “Do you really think regular, ordinary ink could power a studio, a toy factory, and an amusement park?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Not to mention trap souls and bring cartoon characters to life!”

Henry had nothing to say to that. He never really questioned how stuff worked around here. He was too busy trying to get out alive with Bendy. He tried very hard to put this place out of his mind after that. _‘A lot of good that did me.’_ He thought bitterly.

“What you are looking at, is the essence of an ancient deity, or a very old god.”

“That's impossible!” Henry shook slightly. “All that crap about “appeasing the gods" was just a load of horse shit!”

“Really?” Linda smirked. “Even after everything you've seen, you still don't believe? The old Sammy would have been very disappointed in you.”

June looked over her shoulder. She was glad her children weren't here to see this. The red light from Norman's projector was dim enough not to blind them. The teeth in their chest chattered and even though they were just standing there, their body continued to twitch. It was like they wanted to move, but couldn't. The thought that they may be trapped in that thing and forced to act against their will, saddened her.

“This isn't the only place where the essence of ancient gods flow just below the surface.” Linda walked to the edge of the shore. The ink lapped a few inches from her feet. “There are spots like this all over the world!”

Henry’s body shook as a strong cough wracked his body. June held him tight so he could use her as support. Even though he covered his mouth with his hand, it didn't muffle the awful sound. It was wet and phlegmy. When he pulled his hand away, it was coated in ink.

“No…” June gasped. He stared at his hand, then at her. She could see the pain in his eyes. That's when it really hit her that she was going to loose him no matter what happened.

“How-" Henry coughed a little more before he was able to clear his throat. “How did he find this stuff?”

“It was an accident really.” Linda shrugged. “It took some research to figure out what he was dealing with. We've always been interested in the occult. We knew that those myths and legends were based on some kernel of truth.” She turned and faced them. “It was just a matter of following the clues.”

“Clues?” It was getting harder for Henry to take a deep breath. It felt like a heavy weight was pressed against his chest.

“Have you ever heard stories of cursed lands?.” Linda smiled at the confused looks on their faces. She loved educating ignorant people on a subject she cared about.

“You know, places in the world that have a profound affect on all living creatures within the area.” She began to pace back and forth. She knew she had their undivided attention and she relished it.

“Stories of entire towns loosing their minds, forming cults, or the people disappearing over night.” Linda stopped pacing and pointed towards Henry. “You know, like the people of Roanoke.”

June was shaking her head. Linda couldn't be serious. “Those were just ghost stories told to frighten children. Whatever happened, happened hundreds of years ago. It certainly wasn't anything supernatural.” she scoffed.

Linda just smiled. “Alright, lets try something a bit more recent. What about the Winchester House?”

The infamous Winchester House. They all heard about this place growing up. The heiress to the vast Winchester fortune brought a simple farm house in California. What started out as small repairs and restoration of the house and property ballooned into a building project that spanned over 40 years.

Mrs. Winchester became more and more reclusive as she bankrolled the constant improvements to her home. She rarely had guests, and the few that were able to see the inside of the house, described it as a beautiful marvel of architecture that you could easily get lost in. There were hundreds of rooms and just as many doors. Hundreds of windows and multiple staircases. What really made the home unique was the layout of everything. Without Mrs. Winchester to guide you, you could easily get lost. There were doors that connected one room to another, but just as many doors that lead to no where or worse, leading to a shear drop off the top floors. Staircases that went up only to stop at the ceiling or to a secret rooms. There was almost no rhyme or reason to the house's layout.

Rumors began to spread about what compelled her to keep building on the property. Some say she was haunted by the spirits of all the lives lost from the guns her family sold. She made the house as confusing as possible to either appease or hide from those spirits. Others said it was a psychic that talked her into building up the massive home. Most just thought she had more money than she knew what to do with and just grew obsessed with the mansion over time. Only Mrs. Winchester knew why she did what she did and she took those answers to her grave.

“That poor woman.” Henry tried to sit up a little straighter, but ended up leaning against June.

“Guilt and grief can make you do strange things.” He stared pointedly at Linda. “She wasn't in contact with god-like creatures.”

“I bet if we dug deep below ground on the property, we'd find evidence of a higher being.” Linda huffed. She looked annoyed that they didn't believe her.

“So, what are you saying? She had ink flowing under her home?” June shudder at the thought of that. “We would have heard if there were creatures roaming the property.”

“Oh don't be silly.” Linda waved a dismissive hand at them. “Each deity effects an area differently.” She walked over to the miner's hat and the black book that sat on top of a wooden crate. She traced the gold lettering on the book with the tips of her fingers.

“Some ooze with feelings of dread, fear, and guilt.” She ran her fingers across the hearts gently. “While others radiate a sense of peace and tranquility.”

“And what about this place?” Henry stared out at the inky sea. He felt a lot of things as he ran through those narrow halls and dodged all manner of twisted beings to stay alive. Mostly he just wanted to take Bendy and get the hell out of there in one piece.

Linda chuckled. “Chaos. One of the most ancient of deities.” She picked up the Illusion of Living and thumbed through some of the pages. “The one where all others stemmed from.”

Linda proceeded to tell them how Joey was looking for a place he could set up shop. An old canning factory became available at an amazingly low price.

“When he asked the previous owner why he was selling the place dirt cheap, he claimed the place was bad luck.” She closed the book and tucked it under her arm. “Strange things kept happening and scared his workers off.”

“Joey, never one to pass up a good deal, scoffed at the idea of bad luck.” Linda got a far away look in her eye. “He put up the money and hired workers to transform the building into the studio of his dreams.”

Henry remember the day they opened the doors of Joey Drew Studios. They were so excited to show the world what they could do. Create great cartoons that would entertain the masses and bring smiles to weary faces. The small amount of success they garnered made Joey hungry for more. He changed into a man Henry barely recognized.

“The studio succeeded and the money started rolling in. Jojo wanted to expand, add more departments, more workers, more cartoons!” Linda's eye sparkled with pride.

“Joey was a man of ideas.” Henry shook his head. “And only ideas. He just didn’t know how to make those things work.”

“Well, that’s why you were there. You were always the practical one.” Linda glared at him.

Henry scoffed at that before another coughing fit seized him. June rubbed his back and told him to breathe.

Linda rolled her eye. “Anyway, it was at that moment He stumbled upon a mysterious substance seeping through the basement floor.” She told them how Joey collected samples of the stuff. He could sense a strange power from it and just needed to figure out how to use it.

“Do you remember Jojo asking you to create a new character for the studio?” Henry frowned. Of course he remembered. Joey gave him a hard time because nothing his department came up with really satisfied him. It frustrated everyone.

Linda smiled. “Do you remember the new brand of ink he told you to use.”

Henry’s eyes became unfocused as the memory of that day came flooding back to him. “The bottle with…the Skull ‘n Crossbones on it…” His eyes grew wide and he looked up at Linda.

She nodded. “And after using that ink, you created a character that everyone loved. Bendy.”

“I-I didn’t know. He never said anything…” Henry sat there, stunned. “A-Are you saying that…that stuff made me create Bendy?” The thought that some demonic force possessed him, had him feeling sick. How could Joey do something like this to him, his best friend?

“Oh for heaven's sake!” Linda stomped her foot in annoyance. “It didn’t control your mind. It simply filled you with inspiration! Joey gave you a task and thus you focused all that chaos into your work.” She huffed and shook her head. “YOU created that demon, not the ink. You gave the chaos form and it became the most popular thing produced in this studio.”

Henry did remember how he felt as he created the little toon. He did sketch after sketch until he finally got it. It was like his mind was swimming with ideas and he couldn’t get them down on paper fast enough. He remembered how happy he was to see that little face smiling back at him and how excited he was to show off the character he KNEW was going to put their studio on the map.

June eyed the other woman suspiciously. “How do you know about all of this?”

“Joey told me.” Linda intoned like it should have been obvious. “My Jojo didn’t keep secrets from me, unlike your brother.”

“I never kept secrets from her!” Henry growled.

Linda rubbed her chin with the tips of her fingers. “Really now? And how long did it take you to tell her about your little demonic friend?”

Henry stared down at the floor. It was true. He waited months to tell June about Bendy and even then, he hesitated. If she didn’t demand to check up on him, would he have told her? He’d like to think he would have, but he’s really not sure.

A light touch at his back broke him from his musings. “It’s okay.” June whispered. What’s done is done and it all worked out in the end. His only regret was the trouble he put them all through. He never wanted to put their lives in danger!

“After that success, he found his way to the good people of the GENT corporation.” Linda sighed. “He presented them with his findings and they were more than happy to create a prototype machine. It was small and designed to dilute the substance so that the effects weren’t so…potent.”

“Why would GENT help him?” June wondered. GENT was a respectable corporation. She couldn’t see them dabbling in the occult.

Linda ran her fingers through her hair. She wasn’t smiling anymore. “They wanted exclusive rights to all of Joey’s research so they could use it at their own discretion.” It was obvious that she didn’t agree with that arrangement. “They were the only ones with the means to provide my brother with what he needed. They also gave him the equipment and man power he needed to find The Source.”

June stared out at the dark sea. It was hard to believe that what they thought was ink was the essence of a higher being. She had to give Joey credit, he looked at all of this, and saw a way to make money. Unbelievable.

“Joey’s dreams were coming true. In the industry, his name was on everyone’s lips. The money was flowing, the studio was growing-" The false angel’s features darkened and there was a red glow in her empty eye socket. “and you chose that moment to leave!”

Henry coughed and took a few shallow breaths before looking Linda in the eye. They’ve had this argument so many times until she left him.

“You know…why I left.” He sounded so tired. “Joey tried to squeeze as much work out of us as possible, and gave nothing in return. He put his name on everything and we barely saw any of the money from our own cartoons!”

“That was the nature of the industry back then.” Linda scoffed. “Only the producers or directors got their name on the credits. Not the little people that worked under them.”

Henry just shook his head. Even to this day, she didn’t understand. Joey had great ideas but didn’t have the patience to implement them correctly. He treated his employees the way he did because he knew a lot of them had nowhere else to go. He used their fears of the Great Depression against them.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t take it anymore. We argued all the time. He turned…something I loved into a chore.” Henry laughed mirthlessly. “A little while after that, I was drafted. So I couldn’t come back even if I wanted to.”

Linda tsked and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Lucky for you, Jojo was very resourceful. He took Bendy and modified him to fit his vision of the character.”

“Modified?” Henry rolled his eyes. “You mean…stolen.”

The woman was glaring daggers at him. “You gave up the rights to the character the moment you stepped out that door! Joey could do anything he wanted with him.”

“I remember what those cartoons were like after Henry left.” June spoke up. “They weren’t the same. They got more mean spirited as the years went on.”

“The audience still loved them!” Linda huffed. “Joey invested a lot of money into expanding the studio. A bigger animation department, better music department, and even a toy factory!”

An emotion played across the false angel’s features that neither sibling could identify. “Jojo saw the effects the ink had on you and the other artists. How it boosted your creativity and inspired you to do greater things. He wanted the entire Studio to experience that.”

“Wait!” Henry gasped. “Is that why there are so many pipes threaded throughout the building?”

Linda nodded. “He commissioned a bigger Machine to pump more essence through this place. Joey Drew Studios became a living, breathing entity unto itself with the machine as its heart.”

June noticed Linda had a more wistful look on her face. Like she was reliving good memories.

“It took more than ten years of hard work, but things were finally falling into place.” She ran her fingers through her oily black hair. Her eye darted over to the siblings and she looked like she was debating on whether she should say more. She seemed to have made up her mind and sighed, “You know, no matter how diluted a poison is, if you drink enough of it, it can still kill you.”

Linda sighed. “His ideas got grander. He wanted Alice Angel to be bigger than Bendy. The public didn’t love her as much as they loved the little demon and the wolf.”

“Then he wanted his own amusement park. Bendy Land.” Linda wrapped her arms around herself. Henry could hear the slight warble in her voice. “I was worried because he was expanding downward instead of up. He assured me that everything would be fine.”

Linda covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head. “He wasn’t satisfied with people dressed up as the cartoon characters. That’s when he toyed with the idea of bringing Bendy and the others to life.”

“H-How did he know he could do that?” June thought that was a major leap from using the ink to animate, to using it to bring those characters to life.

“I've seen the ink do a lot of things.” Henry cleared his throat and grimaced at the taste of ink on his tongue. “There are smaller machines that can mold it into other objects, like cogs, pipes, and even a working radio.”

Linda shrugged. “That was what the R&D department was created for. GENT discovered quite a few interesting properties with the ink. Discoveries that benefited my brother immensely.”

The false angel's voice grew quiet. “I was there when Joey attempted to create a Bendy on his own with the prototype machine. A kind of test run if you will. We hadn’t quite figured out the ritual needed for the job.” Linda shuddered. “The first one… From a distance, it looked on model, but-" By this point, she wasn’t talking to the siblings anymore. She seemed to be lost in her own memories. “The eyes were so black, like deep, dark pits you could fall in forever. The mouth didn’t look right…vertical…so many teeth…”

Henry was alarmed. Was there another Bendy trapped within this building? He thought Ben and Bendy were the only ones. Damn it Joey! Couldn’t you leave well enough alone!

“Thank god he had that thing destroyed before it saw the light of day. That would have ruined everything.”

June was appalled by Linda’s attitude. Maybe the first attempt wasn’t perfect, but it was still a living creature! She couldn’t imagine what kind of hell Joey put Ben through because he came out the way he did. No wonder he was so angry all the time. It hurt her heart to think of what he would have done to Bendy if he had gotten his grubby mitts on him.

“That was the last time I bared witness to the birth of one of those…things.” Linda was rubbing her arms as if she were cold. “I warned Joey to be careful. He promised that everything would be alright once he had all the kinks worked out.”

“He should have quit while he was ahead.” June hissed. It was madness to keep messing with forces he didn’t understand.

“Maybe he would have if Henry had stuck around!” Henry just shook his head. They all knew Joey wouldn’t have listened to him. She just needed someone to blame.

Linda tucked the Illusion of Living under her arm and picked up the miner’s hat with the hearts in it. She sauntered over to the siblings with a knowing grin on her face. It was time to wrap things up.

“Joey knew he was onto something. GENT created a template in the hopes to make Bendy more on model. Feeding film reels of the little demon into it was suppose to program the toon with the personality of Bendy from the cartoons. Hell, Joey even refined the ritual so that everyone that had a hand in the creation of the living toon would give a little piece of themselves to it!” She looked frustrated. “All those careful preparations, and it still went wrong! He ended up with that twisted mess of an ink demon that he could do nothing with.”

Linda took a few deep breaths to calm herself. No sense getting worked up over it now. “Well, you know the rest.”

A thoughtful expression crossed her face. “What I don’t get is, why the character got split in two. I’m sure Jojo didn’t know about your Bendy or he would have used him, and got rid of the other one.” Linda tilted her head back and stared up into the darkness. “Maybe the ink sensed there were two creative minds behind the Bendy character and divided the attributes between the two.”

“That would explain why Ben became so twisted. He took after your brother.” Henry chuckled. June winced at that. She knew it was a dig at Joey, but she was sure the ink demon would not have appreciated the comparison.

Linda glowered at him with her lips set in a thin line. “I guess we’ll never know since he’s not here. You made sure of that!”

She ordered Norman/Sammy to hold them. They reached out and grabbed June by her waist, yanking her away from her brother. Henry was lifted off his feet. He tried to struggle but was too weak to break free.

“Linda please, you have me already, Let June go. She has nothing to do with this!” Henry pleaded.

Linda just shook her head. “ Aww, that’s so sweet. Unfortunately when you invoke a god, sacrifices must be made. I figured two offerings are better than one! I’m sure to get what I want.”

June looked horrified. She began to struggle in earnest, but to no avail. The grip on her waist tightened and the creature hissed and flashed its rows of sharp teeth.

“Don’t worry Juney. Even though you’ll be dead, you wont be gone.” Linda’s voice was filled with false concern. “If you’re lucky, you’ll be granted a new form from the ink. Maybe you’ll even reunite with your brother, then you can live out the rest of your unnatural lives together!”

The woman’s deranged laughter echoed throughout the cave. “See Henry, I can be very merciful. Your sister will be with you. That’s more than you gave me and Jojo.”

Linda turned her back on them and marched towards the edge of the shore. The ink rolled calmly before her. She smiled. Victory is within her grasp. She only wished Joey was here to see all of it. She was sure he’d get a kick out of this.

“O Great Lord of the Ink!” she bellowed. “Here my plea. I have the keys-" Linda held out the miner’s hat. “now set me free!”

The cavern grew deathly quiet. The only sounds heard were the lapping of waves against the shore and the soft keening from Shadow in the cage. June couldn’t see it, but it sounded really scared. The creature’s grip grew tighter and their teeth began to chatter slightly as the quiet stretched on.

Suddenly, there was a soft splashing sound. It seemed to be coming from somewhere off in the distance. Far out where the floodlights couldn’t reach. It almost sounded like something was swimming towards the shore. June strained her eyes but could only see ripples in the ink. Whatever it was, it was big!

Linda spread her arms wide, the miner’s hat in one hand, and the black book in the other. The ink frothed and bubbled before her. June gasped as a giant, gloved hand rose up from the dark sea. The hand was attached to a long, muscular arm and was big enough to engulf a full grown adult. She held her breath and she waited for the rest of the creature to emerge but nothing happened. The hand just hovered over Linda as though it were waiting for something.

“That-that can’t be…” Henry whispered. He was staring at the hand with a haunted look in his eyes. “I-I thought…It’s not Ben…” his voice trailed off. All this time, he thought it was the ink demon that tried to pull his boat under as it chased him down the river. He couldn’t believe it was a completely separate entity!

The gloved hand lowered itself and turned over. Linda took a few cautious steps forward and laid the miner’s hat in its waiting palm. She stumbled back as the blunt fingers curled around the hearts quickly. The fist rose up, then dove under the waves with a loud splash.

Linda chuckled and faced the siblings. They could see a ball of red light dancing in her empty eye socket.

“It’ll be over soon…for all of us.”

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

  
Deep below the waves where light created streaks of gold that danced along the surface, the hand held its precious cargo. Its fingers opened as the being continued to descend and fade into the gloom. The miner’s hat was heavy and it continued to sink, but the hearts floated as though held by some invisible force. One made of yellowing papier-mâché and the other made of ink in the form of the twisted organ.

Seconds ticked by before the hearts took their first beat. Ink flowed through their chambers and caused each beat to grow stronger and stronger. The paper heart beat frantically while the ink heart beat listlessly. A faint glow began to surround each heart. The one of paper radiated a soft white light while the one of ink shined a gentle violet.

With each heartbeat, the glow grew brighter. As soon as the white light came into contact with the violet, memories began to flow between the two consciousness.

 

* * *

 

_**At first there was nothing, but slowly I became aware. I open my eyes. I don’t know where I am. I stood in the middle of large room with a loud device chugging behind me. I was so fascinated by my surroundings, it took me awhile to realize I wasn’t alone.** _

_**Two men were staring at me. The one with dark eyes looked amazed and kept gesturing towards me. The one with light eyes, didn’t look happy. The eyes were narrowed and teeth were bared at me!** _

_**Did-Did I do something wrong? I didn’t think so but the two men began to argue.** _

_**If I did something wrong, I can fix it! Just stop yelling. It hurts…** _

....

_At first there was nothing, but slowly I became aware. I open my eyes. I don’t know where I am. I seemed to be stuck to something flat. I walk this way and that, but I seem to hit the edge of my little space. I was so preoccupied, I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone._

_I can’t see them very well, but I can hear them. So many voices chattering about this and that. I don’t understand what they’re sayin’ but I would sure love to meet them. If only I could leave this little space! I want to go to where the voices are!_

_So I push at the edges of the white space. I push and push until I finally tumble out. I seem to be standing on another flat surface. This one was way bigger and seemed to go on forever._

_At least I can find the voices now, so I took off runnin’._

….

_**The one called Thomas took me to another room. The other one…Joey, my creator, didn’t want to see me anymore. He was angry and I don’t know why. Maybe Thomas can’t help me fix whatever is making my creator so upset.** _

_**There are more people here. They look at me with the same wide eyes Thomas had. They touch me and ask me questions. I don’t know how to answer them. They move around me, talking nonstop. I don’t understand what they are saying and they are making me nervous. I make a sound and they back off.** _

_**They look…afraid now. I didn’t want to scare them, but they were crowding me. I don’t like that. Too much noise, too much movement. It’s confusing.** _

_**Thomas seems to understand my discomfort because he ordered the others away. I like him.** _

….

_There are people here! Dozens and dozens of people. All moving about and talking to one another. I’m so small, they don’t notice me. That’s okay. All this commotion makes me nervous._

_I can move across the walls, making my way quietly from one room to another. I can see posters across from me. Posters of…me, I think. I’m not sure how I know this because I can’t even see myself, but it feels right._

_Sometimes, if I find spots where I can climb high enough, I can see what the people are doing. They are drawing all kinds of things, including pictures of me! They have a bunch of drawings of me and when they flip the pages, I move! It’s like magic…_

….

_**Alice? I can’t believe my eyes. It’s her! She’s really here and she’s real, like me.** _

_**She looks and acts a little different. Her voice is a little deep. She’s a little too tall, but so am I. At least she doesn’t have ink running down her face like I do. At least our creator didn’t look upon her with disappointment. At least…I’m not the only one anymore.** _

_**I need to meet her. Thomas doesn’t like me sneaking around down here. Joey gets so upset when he catches me. I just need a few minutes, then I’ll go back to the office.** _

_**Alice is alone. She hummed one of my favorite tunes as she studied some sheet music. She had a really pretty voice.** _

_**I learned a few tricks while down here. I can see through the cutouts that are placed throughout the studio. It's a little disorienting at first, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I can even open my own doorways using the ink and I can show up wherever I want. It’s great when I want to explore. I just have to be careful not to be seen. People tend to scream when they see me.** _

_**Alice is in the music department. It must be late because no one else is around, not even that weird guy, Sammy. This is perfect! I can say Hello and maybe she’ll even sing me a song or two.** _

_**I step through the dark doorway, right behind her. I startled her, but she doesn’t scream, just stare at me with wide eyes. She said my name and it sounded so pretty coming from her.** _

_**Her skin looked so smooth, like those porcelain dolls they made in the toy shop. I wanted to touch her face. Just a little bit to feel how soft it must be.** _

_**I reached out and laid my hand on her cheek. She screamed. Something was wrong. I pulled away, but some of her skin got stuck to my hand! It peeled and melted like candle wax. Oh no, I-I hurt her. I ruined her face!** _

_**She cried and ran away. I’m sorry Alice! I didn’t mean to do it! I didn’t mean to hurt you…** _

_**I’m sorry.** _

….

_What’s going on? Something doesn’t feel right. The people aren’t smiling anymore. They no longer look like they’re having fun drawing those moving pictures like they used to. They look so tired all the time. If that’s the case, they should get some rest! All this running around can’t be good for them._

_I guess the pipes bustin' and raining ink down on everyone isn't helping either. I haven’t been able to move around as much because whole sections of the walls are drenched in the stuff. Sometimes the ink destroyed all their hard work and they had to do them all over again._

_Then there’s the boss, Mr. Drew. At least I think he’s the boss. Everyone jumped whenever he’s around. I just hid in the corners so he can’t see me. When he talked to the people, he said inspiring things, but I’m not sure they’re buyin’ it. It’s his eyes. He said one thing, but those light eyes said something else._

_I don’t like him._

….

_**Joey had Thomas lock me away because of what happened to Alice. I could leave but I don’t want to. Not after what happened.** _

_**There are projectors with Bendy cartoons playing over and over on the screens. Joey said I needed to study them. That if I watched them long enough, I could be just like the Bendy in the cartoons.** _

_**He told me I needed to listen to him because he was my creator and he knew what was best for me. He lied. I found the original sketch. Henry created me. But he’s not here, so I don’t have much choice.** _

_“Bendy, I know you don’t like being locked up in here. Believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you.”_

_**I seriously doubt that.** _

_“You want to be normal, right? You want to be able to sing and dance for people and not scare them, right?”_

_**I whimper and stare up at the light streaming from above me. I want to go out there. I want to see the outside world!** _

_“Oh my boy, I know what you’re thinking. You can’t go out there. No one will accept you. Not like this.”_

_**I shook my head. I know I’m not on model, but it’s not that bad…** _

_“People want Bendy! The little devil darling. The cute little toon that gets into all sorts of mischief and who is a hapless victim of circumstance. A creature to be pitied.”_

_**He looked at me and I could see the anger simmering in those grey eyes.** _

_“You. You are a mistake. Something went wrong and you came out as this twisted…thing. A monster. No one wants to be around a monster.”_

_**He said all of this with a light chuckle and a smile on his face. Like he was joking. I knew better than that.** _

_**It hurts to hear him say these things. And even though I found out awhile ago that he's not my creator, he's all I have. So I stand here and take it in the hopes that he can help me.** _

_“Just do as I say and we’ll fix you up in no time! After all, you are the star of this show.”_

_**The star…** _

….

_New people are coming into the studio these days. The ones that worked on the cartoons are always changing. Some walked out, while others disappeared only to be quickly replaced by new faces. I don’t like this._

….

_**The voices. I hear their whispers constantly. More join the chorus of fear and pain. More and more are trapped as the days wear on. If this keeps up, everyone will hear their cries.** _

….

_It’s getting quiet around here. There aren’t as many people roaming the halls anymore. The sounds of their chatters are replaced by ink dripping from the pipes. I miss all the talking. It made me feel less…lonely._

….

_**The whispers are growing louder. I can’t shut them out anymore. They’re begging for help, but I can’t… I don’t know what to do.** _

….

_Where is everyone? I-I don’t want to be alone…_

….

_**Joey came to me one day. He told me that he sent a letter to his old pal, Henry.** _

_**Henry, my true creator is returning. Maybe…maybe he can help me. I’m so tired. Everything hurts. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.** _

….

_There is a man here. I’ve never seen him before, but for some reason, he seemed familiar. I’ll follow him to see what he does._

_Why is he here? Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is here? I need to tell him. He needs to leave!_

_…._

_**Henry is here. He ran from me! I needed his help and he’s scared of me, just like the others.** _

_**I can’t take this anymore!** _

_Henry! I need to help him. I need to keep him safe!_

_**HENRY! When I find you, I will KILL YOU!** _

…

* * *

 

Slowly, the hearts' glow grew brighter, and they began to beat as one. The individual memories flowed together until they became one. A dominate consciousness absorbed the others. Finally, after all this time, they were whole again.

The ink surrounded the light, incasing it in a dark cocoon. It grew larger and pulsed with a strange power. Something was forming inside. A creature that hadn’t seen the light of day in hundreds of years. A creature born of chaos, darkness, and human imagination. Soon it will face the ones that called it and there will be hell to pay.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

A tremor rocked the cavern. Cracks began to farm on the stony walls and ink bled through like blood in an open wound. Huge chunks of rock cascaded down from the ceiling and fell around them.

June and Henry screamed as they tried to wiggle out of the creature’s tight grip. It wouldn’t let them go even when the world was falling down around them.

Linda stumbled back and clutched the black book to her chest. The sea was churning violently. The ink produced huge ripples that caused it to rise higher and higher against the shore.

All of a sudden, the sea formed a huge whirlpool that sucked the ink away from the shore. The cave was filled with the roars of the dark substance swirling into the vortex.

The ground rumbled and caused the floodlights to sway and flicker. Linda backed up until she was standing near the siblings. She threw her arms up and laughed hysterically.

“IT’S COMING! THE LORD OF THE INK IS HERE!”

There was a powerful explosion that knocked Linda off her feet. Norman/Sammy only stumbled back slightly but never lost its grip on Henry and June. If anything, its hold grew tighter to the point where it was hard to breathe.

Further out from the shore, a huge column of ink rose up towards the ceiling. They watched as it spiraled upwards and then slowed to a stop. It stood unmoving like an ancient black obelisk. The cave grew quiet again and they all held their breath.

A loud crack rang out through the cavern. Slowly the imposing figure took shape. The ink seemed to redistribute itself, forming vaguely recognizable shapes. Two long, muscular arms sprouted from the main body. At the end of those arms, large white hands tipped with dangerously sharp claws formed. A thick chest barreled out as its shoulders widened. The abdomen tapered somewhat and the outline of ribs became more prominent under the chest. The rest of the body disappeared below the sea.

Above the chest, a long, thick neck formed. There seemed to be some kind of tattered white cloth wrapped around the neck. The cloth formed a ragged bowtie at the end.

Lastly, the ink formed a bubble at the base of the neck. As it grew bigger, horns sprouted from the top. They thickened and elongated, curving forward, then angling back and up sharply. The ink ran down the front of the bubble revealing a stark white face. Or maybe it was a mask. Aside from the large oval eye sockets, there was no mouth.

The entity stood perfectly still for a few moments before it took a deep breath. Its chest rose and fell slowly like it hadn’t taken in air in a very long time. It raised its hands up to its face and wiggled its claws. It seemed to be testing its flexibility.

Henry stared up at the being silently. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Bendy had different forms that he could take, but none of them were like this. He had a feeling nothing good would come from gaining this creature’s attention. Unfortunately, Linda had other plans.

The woman took a few tentative steps towards the shore. This was what she wanted. To come face to face with the god that made her brother’s dreams come true. Now, she was going to get her wish. To be free from the shackles of the ink and to trap the man that took her brother away from her.

“MY LORD!” she shouted. She fell to her knees and held out The Illusion of Living.

The creature turned and tilted its head towards the group. It brandished its claws before letting its hand fall to its side. It waded through the ink and came closer to the shore.

The entity hunched over them. Its massive hands came crashing down on either side of the group. Its sharp claws raked across the stone floor and tore through it as though it were tissue paper.

The air grew cold and heavy with the creature looming over them. Standing this close to the floodlights, they could all see it in greater detail. Its hands weren’t just white, they were gloved. The material became torn at odd angles past the wrists. The same material was wrapped around its neck. The bowtie itself had tears and holes in it as well.

The most off putting feature of the entity was its…face. It really did look like a mask. It had no nose or even a mouth, just large oval shaped…empty eye sockets. They were dark and its stare unfathomable. No matter how much light lit its face, it couldn’t illuminate the deep recesses of its eye sockets. The darkness just swallowed up the light. Staring into them for too long felt like staring into an…abyss.

No one said a word. Only the clicking of the amalgamation's teeth and Shadow’s keening from its cage could be heard. Even then, the entity’s attention seemed to be solely on the humans before it.

June was shaking badly. The air was too cold, too heavy. It felt like this thing was looking through her. Like it could see into her soul. How was it able to do that if it had no eyes!

“H-H-Henry?” June winced. The cold hurt her lungs as her breath puffed through the air like smoke. She looked over at him. Henry’s breathing was extremely shallow. His eyes were wide and she could see more dark veins creeping across his face. He tried to say something but started coughing. Ink dribbled out the side of his mouth. He was growing weak before her eyes and she could do nothing to help him.

“M-my lord.” June didn’t miss the quiver in Linda’s voice. Sounds like she wasn’t expecting something this imposing.

“I have done as you asked. I brought you the keys to make you whole. I even brought you two suitable sacrifices!” She gestured towards Henry and June. “One of which gave you form and purpose.” The creature tilted its head and was eyeing Henry. Without facial expressions, it was hard to tell what it was thinking. “Please, set me free of this inky prison.”

The creature didn’t move for a long time. Linda laid prostrate on the ground, refusing to look up in the face of the ‘god' she was dealing with. The sloshing of the ink startled them all. The creature moved a little closer. Its shadow blanketed them as it stalked closer.

A loud crack caused Linda to finally look up. A vertical slit formed in the middle of the creature’s face. They all watched in horror as ink oozed out of it. It dripped on the ground near the group and Linda frantically scurried back. Slowly, it opened. Creeks and moans could be heard as the gap opened wider. A rush of rancid air blew over the group. The slit opened to reveal rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

“YOU?!” Linda screamed. She shook an accusing finger at the being. “It-It can’t be! Joey d-destroyed you…” her voice trailed off.

The being's mouth opened wider until they could see the inside of its mouth. The back of its throat glistened in the light, all oily and moist. It sent a shiver down June's spine. The flesh seemed to pulsate and shift. It collapsed in on itself to create a deep, dark hole. The walls of its throat began to ungulate as a strange golden light crept up from the dark recesses of its gullet.

As the light grew brighter, voices could be heard deep within. At first, they could only make out one of two of the whispers, but soon that was joined by more and more voices. The whispers grew so loud and so numerous, they couldn’t understand what was being said. There had to be hundreds of different voices emanating from the creature’s throat!

“W-What the hell is that?” June whimpered. She tried to look away, but couldn’t. She wanted to cover her ears so she couldn’t hear the despair in all those voices. They sounded so scared and in pain. It shook her to her very core.

“It’s…the Well…of Voices…” Henry's shallow breaths were making it harder for him to speak. His entire body felt like lead. He knew the ink had settled in his lungs because he could taste it on his tongue. He was running out of time.

“The souls of all the people taken by the ink? That light…It came from you?” If Linda was expecting an answer, she wasn’t getting one.

The being slid back, its claws left huge gouges in the stony ground. It straightened up to its full height. It seemed to take a deep breath as it reared back, then let loose an ear piercing sound. It was comprised of every single soul within it wailing at the same time. The sounds was soul crushing.

June and Henry were abruptly thrown to the ground. Norman/Sammy stumbled back. Their body started to melt. Electricity crackled and caused them to twitch uncontrollably. The few wires that were still attached to their back sparked and snapped apart. The amalgamation flailed their arms in a feeble attempt to stop their electrocution. There was a bright flash when energy burst from the open mouth in their chest. Their body seized up before they fell to the ground with a mighty crash. The projector rolled off their shoulders. The body bubbled and sizzled as it melted into a puddle of ink. The only things left behind were teeth, wires, and the broken projector.

June shut her eyes tightly to fight back tears. She wanted to find some way to save Norman and Sammy. They didn’t deserve to go out like this, not after everything they’ve done for her family. How was she going to tell the girls?

“Henry?” Her brother was laying face down on the ground. He wasn’t moving. “HENRY!” June panicked. She tried to stand but slipped on the ink under her feet. She ended up crawling on her hands and knees until she reached him. She struggled to flip him onto his back and nearly burst into tears at the sight of him.

His skin ghostly white. It made his veins stand out even more. Ink was trickling out the side of his mouth and he was barely breathing. June sat on the ground and pulled him into her lap.

“Henry? HENRY! C'mon, wake up!” she shook his shoulders. “Please wake up! We need to get out of here. I-I can’t do this without you…”

After shaking him a few more times, Henry slowly regained consciousness. He fought to open his eyes. The whites of his eyes were completely black. She couldn’t even see the green in his eyes. He coughed to clear his throat. Ink dripped from his nose.

“Juney…” She could barely hear him over the din of screams. “I-It hurtsss…”

Some movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Linda tried to run out of the cave, but one of her legs snapped off at the knee. She stumbled and fell near the cage where Shadow was being held. Linda sat up and stared at her hands.

“No No No! This isn’t what I wanted!” Some of her fingers snapped off as her hands started to melt. The halo on her head warped and dripped on her head. She screamed and grabbed her head as the ink boiled and burned her.

“I did everything you asked of me! Why are you doing thisss…to…me-" She hacked as the hole in her cheek grew wider and her skin pulled away. The lower half of her face sloth off to reveal a blackened skeletal jaw underneath. She shuddered and crumpled to the ground as the rest of her body dissolved into a puddle of ink.

Meanwhile, Shadow was throwing itself against the inside of the cage. Its ink stuck to the bars and pooled on the bottom of the rusty floor. Its legs were mere sticks that barely held up the rest of its body. After a few failed attempts at escape, Shadow collapsed to the floor. It warbled pitifully and stared at June.

“Shadow!” She watched as the violent glow in its eyes grew dim, then dark. Its body bubbled, then melted with its ink running through the bars.

June couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. It blurred her vision. She grew frustrated with herself. She felt completely useless. Ben, Bendy, and Shadow were gone. Henry was dying in her arms and she didn’t know what to do! The creature’s wails were grating on her frayed nerves. It hurt something deep inside to hear so much pain in those voices. She just wanted it to end.

“STOP IT!” June screamed at the top of her lungs. She couldn’t take it anymore. “YOU’RE KILLING HIM!” Angry tears stung her eyes. She didn’t know if the creature could even hear her, but at this point, she didn’t care. “Please stop! I-I can’t loose him too…”

June wrapped her arms around Henry and curled her body over him. She knew this wasn’t the time to cry, that she needed to get her brother on his feet so they could get out of here. She shouldn’t be crying, but she couldn’t help it. It felt like she was loosing everything important to her.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed in that position. June did notice how quiet it was. She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes before looking up. She nearly jumped out of her skin. The creature had moved closer to the shore. The lower half of its body was still submerged under the ink while the upper half was looming over them. It was glaring down at them with its mouth slightly open.

With the being standing this close, June could almost make out what the voices were saying.

_“he will set us free.”_  
_“he lied to us!”_  
_“why wont he let us go home?”_

June stared up into the face of the Lord of the Ink. The void in its empty eye sockets staring back at her. The voices kept repeating the same thing over and over again. They were pleading for help while the being just stood there and watched them.

“W-What do you want f-from us?” June winced at the cold air hitting her lungs. She hunched over her brother protectively. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she wont let this creature lay a claw on him.

The creature shifted and leaned down. It opened its mouth wider. More and more voices streamed from its maw. Anger, despair, and hopelessness bombarded her ears. The golden light crept up its throat and was growing brighter.

“HENRY! Henry c'mon!” June pushed her arms under his armpits and tried to lift him up. It was like trying to pick up dead weight. He was too heavy for her and he could barely move, plus her feet kept slipping out from under her. The ground was slick with Norman/Sammy’s ink.

“June…” Henry grabbed her arm and tugged at her wrist weakly. “June, just go…” His words came out garbled as through he had a hard time catching his breath.

“What?!” she looked at him like he lost his mind.

“RUN!” He tried to pry her hand away, but she had a death grip on him. “Leave me…”

“SHUT UP!” June held him tighter and tried to drag him across the ground. “I’m not leaving you here.” She grunted and continued to pull him. “We’re leaving together!” She could feel the stone cutting into her knees, but that wont stop her from trying to save him.

The creature reached out and grabbed the siblings. June tried to hold onto Henry, but the creature was too strong. It easily pride them apart.

The inky being closed its mouth as it studied its prisoners. June wiggled in its tight hold as she called out to her brother. Henry barely had the energy to put up a fight. He spent what little time he had pleading for his sister’s life.

“I’m…sorry…Juney…” The pure guilt in his darkened eyes hurt so much. She wanted to tell him that none of this was his fault. She was happy to have met Bendy and even Ben. Her only regret was that she'll never see the girls and Jason again, but at least they were safe. The Studio had her and Henry. There was no need to go after her family anymore.

June summoned all her anger and courage with the intent of looking the god in its empty eye sockets and cursing the monster out! If they were going to die, she wanted to give it a piece of her mind! Unfortunately, she never got the chance.

The creature backed away from the shore, then dove below the dark sea. The Lord of the Ink returned to once it came and dragged its victims down with it. The siblings' screams were swallowed up by the waves. Soon, the cavern grew quiet once more.


	5. The Face of a God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game is over. Joey Drew tried to play god and lost. Now, only the ink remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite done with this story yet.

Darkness.

There was nothing here but unending darkness.

This wasn’t the first time Henry had entered the ink. It usually took the form of a long tunnel. There were voices whispering all around him and a golden light he followed to find his way out. There was always a way out…

Not this. He was floating, or maybe falling, in a sea of ink. There was no light to guide him, no tunnel to traverse, just a lot of nothing.

You'd think he would be panicking right about now, but he wasn’t. He was just…tired. The ink in his lungs had finally settled in, so he wasn’t breathing anymore. Before, his entire body felt like lead, but now, he didn’t feel anything anymore. He guessed this must be what it’s like to be dead.

Henry looked around, but didn’t see a thing. Somewhere along the line, he must have gotten separated from June. ‘ _Oh Juney, I wish I could be with you right now. I know how much you hate being alone.’_ he lamented.

Is this how it going to end for them? To float in all this nothingness, watching their bodies rotted away until only their souls remained? Did the others go through this? No wonder they all went mad. Joey really had it out for all of them, huh. He didn’t think one man had so much spite in him to doom an entire studio full of people that worked hard to make his dreams a reality.

Henry’s mind wandered to the little toon he escaped the studio with. They had been through so much together. They almost died a few times too, but somehow made it through alive. When they finally left this place, he swore he'd give his friend the life he deserved. Didn’t they earn a peaceful life? Why did this place have to haunt them even after Joey was gone. A place built on dreams that became a living nightmare for everyone!

A flash of white broke Henry out of his melancholy. Something was heading towards him, something big! It was a hand. The clawed, gloved hand that belonged to the Lord of the Ink. It was reaching for him.

He wanted to move. He wanted to get away, but his limbs weren’t cooperating. Henry finally gave up the struggle. This was it then. He was going to be crushed and his soul bound to a new inky body! Why couldn’t he have stayed unconscious for this?

The hand got within striking distance when it suddenly flip over. It slipped under his body as he drifted down into its waiting palm. He laid there, wide eyed and watched the sharp claws flex around him.

The ink shifted before him and a stark, white face was revealed. Henry felt himself being lifted towards the creature. He couldn’t make out the rest of its form because it seemed to blend in with the ink around them. There was just a vague outline of it’s body looming over him.

The Lord of the Ink. It stared down at him with its blank, mask-like face. Thank goodness its mouth was closed. He marveled at how the inside of its eye sockets were darker than the ink that surrounded them.

 _‘Man, I miss the days when Nightmare Bendy held me like this. At least I knew he wasn’t going to crush me.’_ Henry mused. Sure, he mostly seen that side of Bendy in his dreams, but his friend always made him feel safe. In that form, Bendy was different. Henry had the impression that he was in the presence of something ancient and powerful. Looks like he wasn’t that far off.

Henry blinked. He thought he saw something in the creature's left eye socket. He could see movement in there. A small pinpoint of light began to form. Slowly it grew until he was staring at a ball of soft, white light. Henry watched in amazement as the little ball bounced erratically within the eye socket before settling down and focusing on him.

That soft, white light… That was the color Bendy’s eye took whenever he assumed one of his monstrous forms. No matter how big and imposing the toon got, all he had to do was look up into that eye, and he knew everything would be alright. Seeing it now just made his heart sink.

‘ _Oh bud, I’m so sorry. I tried. I really tried. We've been through a lot huh? I never thought it would end like this._ ’ Henry sighed internally. ‘ _All I ever wanted was to give you a good life. You've brought me so much happiness. I only hope I’ve done the same for you.’_

The light grew brighter and shuddered slightly. A ghost of a smile tugged at Henry’s lips. Maybe some part of his friend was still in this monster. If this was the last thing he saw before the end, he was fine with that.

_‘I wish we had more time. There was so much I needed to tell you. And Ben, I really owed him a big apology.’_

The ball of light dimmed, then flickered, until it finally went out. Henry was staring into the endless void again. There was a sense of movement and the giant hand began to close around him. He would have been freaked out if it wasn’t for the feeling of his own consciousness being dragged back. His eyelids felt incredibly heavy and every time he blinked, it took him a little longer to open them.

Looks like this thing was forcing him to go to sleep. Henry supposed that was the only mercy he was going to receive before his soul was trapped here forever. One last slow blink and he didn’t have the strength to open his eyes anymore. The last thought he had before the darkness claimed him was for his sister to be set free. She had nothing to do with the studio and she had a family that needed her. He’d willingly give up his soul so that she could live.

* * *

 

She really didn’t want to open her eyes. The last thing June remembered before passing out, was trying to hold her breath as they were dragged down to the depths of the inky sea. At some point, the creature let them go, but it was too dark. She couldn’t find Henry!

June kicked her legs to try to swim back to the surface, but she couldn’t see the glow from the floodlights anymore. She had no idea if she was even going in the right direction. Not to mention, the burning in her lungs was a blaring signal that she was running out of time.

She kicked and kicked, reaching out to the nothingness around her. Her lungs were screaming at her to expel the little bit out of air trapped in them. She knew it was a death sentence but she couldn’t fight the urge any longer. June coughed and watched the bubbles exit through her nose. There was a rush of fluid down her throat when she tried to take an involuntary breath through her mouth. She tried to cough it out but it felt like the ink was pushing its way to her lungs. There, it settled like liquid lead weighing her down.

June clawed at her throat. She was drowning! Her strength was failing her and she could barely feel her legs. Deep down, she knew there was no use. He body was loosing the fight to survive. Her vision was starting to blur and her brain felt muddled. June's limbs were growing heavy and soon, her body went limp. With the last of her strength, she managed to close her eyes. She was relieved to let her consciousness sink into the blessed darkness. ‘I just want this to be over.’

June wasn’t sure how long she drifted there, but her consciousness was slowly returning. She felt weightless. Some part of her couldn’t believe she was in this situation in the first place. It was stupid, but she tried to take a breath. The ink in her lungs wouldn’t budge. It felt so strange and she should have been scared, but she was just too exhausted to panic.

' _So, now what?_ ’ June wondered. This couldn’t be it. Just floating here in the darkness, alone. Her thoughts drifted to her girls and Jason. She’ll never see them again, but at least they were safe. She knew Jay would try to look for her. She really hoped not. The girls was going to need him now more than ever.

June became acutely aware of a shift in the ink. It felt like something was moving around her. She refused to open her eyes. Whatever was going on, she didn’t want to see it.

She startled when he back touched something firm. June was laying on something. Whatever it was, stopped her fall. As she laid there, she could feel it moving under her.

' _Don't open your eyes. Don’t open your eyes. Don’t open your eyes!’_.

“…”

Damn it! Her curiosity got the better of her. June could feel herself being lifted upward, then she stopped. Nothing else happened save for the slight shifting of the surface she way laying on. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel something watching her. Whatever it was, it didn’t seemed fooled by her act and was waiting for her to react.

June sighed internally. There was no sense in pretending anymore so she slowly opened her eyes. What was the worse that could happen? She was dead already, right?

Once her eyes focused, she wished she had kept them closed. June was staring into the dark, empty eye sockets of the creature that dragged them down here in the first place! Not only that, but she was resting in its large, clawed hand. All she could see was its white mask-like face and the claws that curled around her. The rest of its immense body was just a hazy outline against the inky blackness of their surroundings.

June could feel her temper begin to stir. It already drowned her and her brother in this inky hell. Now it wanted to toy with her body? If she could get some air in her lungs, she would scream enough obscenities at the creature to make her husband blush. Since she can’t do that, she settled for glaring at it.

‘ _What do you want?_ ’ June scowled. She could feel its fingers flexing slightly. ‘ _So this is it? You’re gonna crush me?’_ she scoffed. ‘ _You could have simply left me unconscious so your face wouldn’t be the last thing…I see?_ ’

She thought she saw something moving in its right eye socket. It looked like a small flame. It was faint at first, but the longer she watched, the brighter it got. Soon she was staring at a ball of light. It swayed listlessly in the darkness before coming to a stop. It gave the illusion that the creature was staring back at her. The ball of light pulsed like a heartbeat and glowed a soft violet. Ben's eye color.

‘ _Oh Ben.’_ June's glare softened. Her eyes were filled with sadness and regret.

‘ _We didn’t start off on the right foot, did we?’_ The light pulsed a little stronger. June chuckled to herself. ‘ _Yeah, you really scared me back then. I didn’t know what you wanted from me.’_ She smiled faintly at all the times he snuck up on her. It was startling how quiet he could be, but in the end, it was all in good fun.

 _‘It took me awhile, but I finally got it. You just wanted someone to see you for who you really are, not what this studio turned you into.’_ The violet orb shuddered and dimmed. ‘I’m just sorry it took me so long to figure that out. Now I’ve lost you, Bendy, and my brother. I’ve lost everything…’

June wasn’t sure if Ben was still in there, but she needed to make her peace, whether he heard her or not. It’s not like she was going to get another chance at it. Who knows what kind of form she was going to take when this thing tore out her soul.

‘ _Heh, maybe I’ll become an angel, like Alice._ ’ June chuckled and closed her eyes. ‘ _Yeah, right. I can’t see myself as an angel. Knowing my luck, I’ll end up as one of those searchers or something.’_ She never noticed the way the light shuddered violently before settling down again.

She opened her eyes slowly. Her eyelids felt really heavy all of a sudden. Exhaustion was creeping up on her. June watched as the violet orb grew dimmer and dimmer until it was swallowed up by the darkness again. That saddened her. The light was oddly comforting, like being in the presence of an old friend. Now she was left staring into the emotionless mask of the ‘Ink Lord'.

June was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Her limbs felt really heavy. She recognized this feeling. When she was in the hospital, she was about to have surgery. They use anesthesia on her. The creature was forcing her to go to sleep.

It had some nerve! If it didn’t want her to be awake, it should have left her unconscious. She tried to glare back at it again, but didn’t have the anger to back it up anymore. June could see its massive claws curling around her.

This was it. No amount of fight was going to get her out of this mess. She closed her eyes and let sleep drag her down.

 _‘I don’t care what form I take, just let me be with my brother, please…’_ was the last thought she had as her sense of self slipped away.

**-????-**

Emptiness.

The world around them was devoid of life save for themselves. Here, they float in this white void with their ink coiling around them like snakes. Very few step foot in their sanctuary and those that did, lost what little semblance of self they had left.

Here, they took the souls of the fallen and enclose them in the ink. New bodies were molded like clay by the Machine and given life by the souls trapped within. It was an interesting concept Joey Drew concocted. Too bad he thought he could play god. Creating life by stealing life from others.

The Lord of the Ink did enjoy the chaos Joey’s little game wrought. It was a shame it was all coming to an end. Things like this couldn’t go on forever.

So here they stood, in their own little world of nothingness. Normally, they were a formless being whose consciousness stretched from one reality to the next in search of new players for their games. But they did have a few forms in this particular reality thanks to Joey Drew’s ruthless ambitions and Henry Ross' boundless imagination. All of that swirled together to create something that was neither good nor evil. They were whatever the creators wanted them to be.

One man envisioned them as a fun loving little devil that got into all sorts of trouble and adventures. The other man saw them as a soulless monster. A twisted creature to be feared and locked away. One was steeped in toon logic, the other bound by cold reality. It was this strange dichotomy that caused the split in that character in the first place. But Joey was gone, they were whole again, and they had the last two players in their midst. Henry Ross was held in their left hand and June Anderson was held in their right.

Henry. The Creator. The one that gave them form and purpose. The one that put a little bit of himself in his creations. The one that braved the trap that Joey Drew set for him and escaped with his life and the toon he created.

June. The sibling of the Creator. The unfortunate addition to a game she didn’t know she was playing. A small act of mercy spiraled into an unlikely friendship with a demon she was afraid of. This also put her own life in danger.

They looked down at the unconscious forms with a mixture of curiosity and pity.

“HUMANS ARE SUCH FRAGILE CREATURES **.** ” Boomed an inhuman voice. “THEIR BODIES ARE EASILY MANGLED AND THEIR SOULS BROKEN. NO WONDER THEY SOUGHT OUR POWER.”

They lifted their hands to get a better look at the siblings. They slept, blissfully unaware of what was going on around them.

“ONCE WE DESTROY THEIR BODIES, WE WILL USE THE INK TO CONTAIN THEIR SOULS **.** ” It flexed and curled its claws around their victims. “THEY WILL BE REBORN ANEW.”

It would be so easy. All they had to do was squeeze. The flesh gave way so easily. They should know. They had done this many times before.

Slowly, they closed their hands. Their claws ready to pierce and tear through flesh and bone…

“Stop!” a small voice shouted. Their hands froze, sharp claws hovering over each siblings' chest, aiming to pierce their hearts. “We can’t do this!”

Deep within the recesses of its darkened eye sockets, small pinpricks of light began to form. The glow grew brighter until two orbs floated through the void. The left orb glowed a soft white and the right, a hazy violet. The left bounced around erratically while the right swayed gently. After a moment, the both settled and gazed down at the humans held in their hands.

“THEY NO LONGER NEED THESE BODIES. WE CAN GIVE THEM NEW ONES, BETTER ONES!” The booming voice insisted.

The violet orb dimmed slightly. “ **They would not want this.** ”

“If we force them, they’ll hate us!” The white orb was very jittery. “Just like all the others…” it said in a softer voice.

A deep growl rumbled like thunder through the empty space. “THEN LET THEM HATE US. WE WILL KEEP THEM HERE WITH US, FOREVER!”. It hated that the others were trying to stop them from doing what need to be done. Didn’t they see? Henry and June would no longer have to fear pain or death. They would not have to fear loosing them…

The Lord of the Ink tried to crush the two fragile forms in their hands again, but the others stopped them. They may have been the dominate, but the others were putting up quite a fight.

“ **After everything they’ve done for us,** ” The violet light pulsed and seemed to be focused on June. “ **they don’t deserve to be trapped here with the rest of them.** ”

“EVERYTHING THEY’VE DONE FOR US?” They sounded truly perplexed by that statement.

The white orb bounced around excitedly. “Yes! They have given us so much, we can’t just take their lives!”

“AND WHAT HAVE THE HUMANS DONE FOR US TO EARN SUCH MERCY?” Their tone was laced with anger. “WE GAVE THEM A GREAT GIFT, THE ABILITY TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE, AND LOOK WHAT THEY’VE DONE WITH IT! NIGHTMARES! NOTHING BUT NIGHTMARES…”

Their claws began to curl around Henry and June again, but shook with the strain from the others fighting them. “WHEN THINGS WENT WRONG, THEY BLAMED US! THEY DID HORRIBLE THINGS IN OUR NAME AND IN THE END, THEY ABANDONED US WHEN THEY COULDN’T CLEAN UP THEIR MESS.”

Inch by inch, the claws made their way to their targets. They could feel the others weakening. Soon, they’ll have two more souls to join them in the ink.

“Stop! Please, don’t do this. They risked their lives for us!” The white light’s pulse grew frantic. They weren’t going to be able to hold them back much longer.

“ **They saved us.** ” Sadness rang clearly through violet's voice. “ **Even if we didn’t deserve it.** ”

The hands froze for a moment out of curiosity. Earlier, they had sifted through the others memories of their time in the Studio but not afterwards. “SHOW US.” they demanded.

It was like watching a private screening. Snippets of their lives flashed before their empty eyes.

* * *

 

_Bendy was so scared when he stepped out of the Studio for the first time. He was real. Not just some drawing stuck on a page anymore. He didn’t know what would happen to him, but Henry promised to be with him every step of the way!_

_Her home was so quiet. So warm. So clean. Not a speck of ink to be found anywhere. Ever since she removed his collar, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She was brave, but foolish. She had no idea what he could have done to her or her family. And yet, here he was, standing in her home. It took him weeks to work up the courage to come back here. He sure hoped it was worth it._

_Bendy’s first nightmare was awful. He had never experienced anything like it before. He woke up screaming. Henry was at his side instantly. He found great comfort in his creator’s arms and soft voice. Everything will be alright._

_The first few meetings went about as well as he expected. He scared her. He couldn’t help that. She just needed to get used to him, that’s all._

_Henry introduced him to the neighborhood children. Bendy couldn’t believe it. He was actually playing with real kids!_

_He loved sneaking up on her as much as he loved stealing cookies. Her screams always amused him. She got angry one night…and gave him a name. Ben. A name of his very own. He wasn’t Bendy the Dancing Demon. He was Ben and he liked that._

_Bendy had a family now! Yeah, Aunt June was very angry about what happened in the woods that night, but she didn’t hate him either. He was relieved that the girls forgave him and wasn’t afraid of him too. He needed to make it up to Sarah for scaring her the other night in her room. She really went out on a limb for him._

_June handed Ben the kitten with a stern warning not to kill it. He agreed, but really, there was nothing she could do to stop him. The kitten. It was so small and vulnerable. She actually trusted him not to hurt it? Maybe…he should hold off on killing the little thing. At least for a little while._

_Beth and Sarah showed Bendy the plush toys that Ben brought them. The demon actually did something nice? That’s so strange…_

_Ben was quite proud of himself this day. He actually got June angry enough to throw a pillow at him. The children and the little ink spot laughed at him, but seeing June crack a smile at his expense made it all worth while._

_It’s Halloween! Aunt June made a great costume for him and the girls. Ben arrived with Sammy and Norman too?! This was going to be the best night of their life!_

_For all his bravado, Ben was afraid. He had never been around a large group of people without them screaming or running away from them. Maybe coming to this party wasn’t such a good idea. Before he could back out, June took him by the hand. She looked him right in his unseen eyes and told him that everything was going to be alright. For the first time in his existence, he actually believed it._

* * *

 

The more memories danced through their mind’s eye, the more they relaxed their hold on Henry and June. At the end of it all, they were cradling those precious lives close to their chest. “WE UNDERSTAND  NOW.”

The dominate stared down at the humans in their hands. These two actually formed unique connections with their other selves. And while one had a more mystical bond with their creator, the other had formed a deep friendship that actually changed their outlook on life. All of this left them with one nagging question:

“WHAT DO WE DO WITH THEM?”

The orbs of white and violet pulsed softly as they mulled over their options in silence. A deep sigh rumbled through their chest. They have never been in a position like this before.

The small, child-like voice was the first to break the companionable silent. “Can we set them free?”

They hummed softly. They didn’t see why not. The humans' bodies were still intact. Their souls haven’t been touched by the ink yet. They’re in control of everything here. It should be a simple task for them…

“ **Set them all free.** ” The violet glow chimed in.

“ALL?”

“ **All of the souls Joey sacrificed to us.** ” The violet glow dimmed and pulsed slowly. “ **We have no reason to keep them here any longer.** ”

“That’s right!” The white glow bounced about excitedly. “Joey’s not here anymore. He lost the game!”

“ **Joey’s dream died a long time ago. We no longer need to keep it going.** ”

They heaved a long, drawn out sigh. This was not a decision they made lightly. Their power didn’t depend on souls, but the machine did. Once the souls were free, no more ink creatures would be produced. It would mean the end of the nightmare and THIS game.

“ARE WE SURE THIS IS WHAT WE WANT?”

Both white and violet lights pulsed strongly. They didn’t need a lot of time to give their answer.

“Yes!”  
“ **Yes.** ”

Their face cracked open slightly in their own version of a smile. Whatever happens after this, they were certain it will be quite interesting.

“THEN, SO BE IT!”

They held up their hands and summoned the ink. They watched as the dark substance slowly consumed Henry and June’s bodies. Soon they held two large blobs of thick ink. The blobs’ surface rippled like someone threw a stone in a lake. The ripples stilled and the blobs began to melt away until nothing was left. Their hands were empty.

With that done, they tilted their head back and opened their mouth. A familiar tune drifted from their open maw. It was a few simple musical notes strung together to produce a cheerful melody. Joey Drew used to whistle it all the time as he roamed the halls of his studio. Everyone recognized the jingle whenever the Bendy cartoons played. It was the theme song Sammy wrote for them.

* * *

 

The sound drifted through the void until it was heard back in the cavern itself. It grew louder as it echoes through the main part of the machine.

The lost ones that were forming behind their glass prison lifted their heads to the soft sound. Their bodies quivered as though the song vibrated through them. Moans and cries of pain filled the air. They pounded on the glass as their bodies began to disintegrate. Soon those chambers held nothing but small pools of ink with no signs of the sentient beings that were held there.

Searchers emerged from their dark puddles to listen to the soft melody. They’ve heard it so many times over the years, but it had never affected them like this. Their bodies shook and they moan in relief. Their torment was finally over. They accepted their fate as they could no longer hold themselves together. One by one, the ink let them go.

Not even the Butcher Gang clones were immune to the song. They babbled and screeched as they tried to run. No one could escape the sound. Their bodies popped like balloons. They shuddered and fell to the ground lifeless, like puppets with their strings cut.

After everything was said and done, the Studio grew quiet. The Machine was left to sputter and chug as the ink moved through its pipes sluggishly. Without souls, the heart of the Studio was dying a slow death. A fitting end to something that had brought so much pain to others.

* * *

 

The song began to quiet down. The Lord of the Ink stood in the middle of the nothingness. Their head was tilted back and they seemed to be staring into empty space. The lower half of their body started to unravel. They were returning to formlessness. They had fun playing this game. Humans never cease to amaze them in what they can do when they got their hands on limitless power. They could do great things but it was stifled by their own imaginations and ego. But this game was over. Joey lost the moment he thought he was more important than the pawns he dragged along with him.

The unraveling crept up to their midsection. The lights in their empty eye sockets pulsed. The white light bounced around frantically while the violet swayed listlessly.

“W-What’s going to happen to us?” the small voice asked.

“IF OUR WILL IS STRONG ENOUGH, WE WILL PERSIST.”

That sentiment was comforting to one more than the other. Both lights dimmed until only the darkness in their empty eyes remained. The mask-like face was the only thing left to float through the void. Ink streaked through the air around them like bolts of lightning. They opened their mouth. Sharp teeth gleamed as wisps of black smoke rose through their gaping maw. As the smoke faded, so to faded the face of an old god.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

It was quiet. So very quiet. Why did that bother her so much. It’s not like it really mattered. She was dead, right? Why should she care that the only thing she could hear was the waves gently lapping at the shore. Why should she care that the cold from the stone floor she was laying on was seeping into skin. Plus there was something heavy laying on her chest.

June wasn’t ready to open. She didn’t want to face whatever new reality was before her. Her soul trapped in a body made of ink. She would have to live out her life as a shifting, boneless mass of gunk that slithered through these dim halls. She wasn’t ready for this. She just knew she wouldn’t stop screaming once it all finally hit her and she had to admit that the life she once had was over. That she would never see her husband and girls again. She might not be able to find Henry in all of this mess either. She will be truly and utterly alone.

So June planned to lay there and pretend that she could still feel her arms and legs. That she could feel the wetness of her hair plastered against her neck. That this heavy weight on her chest was starting to get on her nerves. It just wouldn’t go away and it was vibrating to boot! She could feel the rumbling throughout her chest and it was starting to hurt. On top of everything she’d gone through, she had to put up with this annoyance.

She tried to lay as still as possible in the hopes that whatever it was would just go away. Only, it didn’t. If anything, it was getting worse. The heaviness pressed harder into her chest. The vibrations stirred something in her lungs. Something that was thicker than air.

After a few seconds of this, June couldn’t take it anymore. She tried to yell at whatever was disturbing her but suddenly realized, she had no air in her lungs! This revelation had a cascading effect on her body. She started to choke and gag. The weight on her chest moved suddenly and something padded around her. Whatever it was, buried itself against her lower back, and managed to roll her onto her side. June fought to get air in her lungs. There was something blocking it. She coughed and the familiar taste of ink hit her tongue. This in turn caused her to gag and sputter as more ink worked its way up her throat. The more of the thick substance she expelled, the more life giving oxygen inflated her lungs. It felt like she was hacking up balls of the stuff. With her eyes closed tight, she didn’t notice the way the thick globs of ink crawled away from her to join the rest in the vast sea.

June took a few deep breaths before she was eased onto her back. After her breathing stabilized, she noticed her heart was thudding painfully in her chest. It was the first time since gaining consciousness that she actually felt her own heart beat. She still had a heartbeat! D-Did that mean…

She cracked open her eyes. Even though the floodlights were dim, they still hurt. June raised her arm. It felt like rubber but she managed to bring her hand into view. Her hand was her hand. It was flesh, not ink! She wiggled her fingers and except for a little tingling from numbness, it was real. She stared at her hand and giggled softly. She was alive and appeared to be in one piece!

A strange gurgling sound caught his attention. She looked up to see a familiar face grinning down at her. Stubby ear-like horns twitched as it laid its head on her chest.

“S-Shadow? Is it really you?” And that’s when she felt it. The vibrations from earlier. Shadow was purring. It was barely audible but she could really feel it.

“You’re alive!” Her arms began to shake but she managed to wrap them around the ink cat's neck. “I thought…I saw you…you’re really here!” Her breath hitched and tears stung at her eyes. Shadow whined and curled up to her. It stayed close and waited for her to pull herself together.

June couldn’t believe it. Shadow was with her even though she saw it melt into a puddle of ink. It was a solid, comforting weight against her chest. It reminder her that they were here and in one piece. How and why, she wasn’t sure, but she was too stressed to question it.

 _‘Henry would laugh at the way I’m hugging poor Shadow like it was a big teddy bear.’_ June mused. She stiffened when she thought of her brother. She hadn’t seen him yet!

“Shadow, where’s Henry?” June's voice cracked slightly as she began to panic. The ink cat must have sensed this because it sat up to give her some space. “I-Is he here? Is he alright?”

Shadow looked over its shoulder and June followed its line of sight. There, laying on the stony floor, maybe twenty feet from them, was Henry. He wasn’t moving.

She struggled to sit up. The large ink cat saddled up next to her so she could use its sturdy shoulders to help her get to her feet. It was slow going. June’s arms and legs were incredibly weak. She would have fallen a few times in her rush if Shadow didn’t stick to her side. She thanked it for letting her lean on it and the cat lead her to Henry.

June collapsed to her knees at his side and fought back tears. Henry looked terrible. He was so pale. She could see black veins clearly through his ashen skin. He wasn’t moving and didn’t appear to be breathing. June grabbed his shoulders, shook him, and called his name, but got no response.

“ Henry? HENRY! Open your eyes!” June slapped his face gently. She didn’t like seeing him like this. “Look at me! I’m alive. Shadow’s here too! I-I’m not made of ink! You’re not made of ink!” She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. “You gotta wake up. We need to go home. Please, open your eyes…” They’ve come too far to give up now.

Shadow laid down next to Henry’s prone form and placed its head against his chest. June couldn’t hear it purr, but she could feel it. It vibrated the air around them like sitting too close to a giant speaker. If this helped her, she prayed that it will help him too.

Shadow’s horns twitched and it pressed its head firmly against Henry’s chest. It was almost as if it were listening for something. After a few agonizing seconds, Henry began to stir. His face scrunched up and the corners of his mouth twitched. All of a sudden, his body began to spasm. He gasped and coughed as ink dribbled out of his nose and the corners of his mouth.

Shadow jumped up and ran to June’s side. She slid her hands under her brother’s shoulders and tried to turn him over. The large ink cat wedged its head against Henry’s back and they both rolled him onto his side. June was amazed. This was what it did for her! How did Shadow even know how to do this?

Henry’s body shook with each wet, hacking cough he took. June rubbed his back and whispered words of encouragement while Shadow made sure he didn’t roll onto his back. The gasping sounds her brother made was painful, but it meant that he was getting more air into his lungs. She never thought she’d be so grateful to hear a terrible sound.

June waited for his labored breathing to normalize before easing him onto his back. Shadow trotted around to the other side of Henry and sat on his haunches. It tilted its head and watched as the ink the old animator coughed up slithered away towards the shore. The ink cat huffed and returned its attention to Henry and June.

Henry moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked confused until his eyes fell upon his sister. The relief that washed across him could be felt by everyone. He took a moment to clear his throat before trying to speak.

“Juney…” His voice sounded a little horse but it was music to her ears. She threw herself against his chest and hugged him. It was like a floodgate opened up. All those tears she tried to hold back came rushing forward. She buried her face into his chest and gripped his shirt tightly as her body shook.

“I’m so glad…you’re okay…” Henry winced as he lifted his arms and wrapped them around her. He hadn’t heard her cry this hard since their father died. He never wanted to hear that again.

A soft whine caused Henry to look off to his side. Shadow was sitting there. The cat lowered its head and nudged Henry’s shoulder gently. He reached out and laid his hand on its head.

“It’s good to see you too, Shadow.” He really meant it too. The cat risked its life to protect him back in the cave, just like Ben did. He stared out at the inky sea. Henry had been wrong about a lot of things. He only hoped he’d get the chance to tell him that.

**-????-**

Floating.

The feeling of weightlessness was so strange. He never felt like this before. Not even when he was stuck on his page. He still felt like gravity was pulling him down. It was like that even more so after he received a real body. To be able to stand in a 3D space was exhilarating. It made walking for the first time kind of awkward. He had to learn how to work his limbs again. Good thing Henry was there to help him.

Bendy slowly opened his eyes. It was white and empty all around him. Strings of ink was attached to his body and snaking through the air. He hung there while the strings seemed to be knitting him back together. The longer he was in this state, the more he felt like himself. He could feel his arms and legs. Heck, he was happy to have his own arms and legs again!

The little toon held up his hands. He could see white gloves. He wiggled his fingers and kicked out his legs in pure joy. He was himself again! The other one was right. As long as he didn't forget himself, he could come back. He really didn’t want to fade away. That thought scared the heck out of him. He shook that thought from his mind. It did him no good dwelling on that now. He needed to grab Ben and get outta here!

Bendy looked around, but didn’t see anyone. Where was Ben? They needed to get back to Henry and June. They must be worried sick about them. He tried not to panic. Ben must have reformed someplace else. Maybe he was looking for him too. Yeah, that’s it…

Bendy twisted this way and that until he noticed a cluster of inky strings off in the distance. They seemed to form a ball around…something. The little toon squinted and saw a large gloved hand hanging limply from the strings.

“BEN!” The toon kicked and flailed his arms as he frantically made his way to the writhing mass of strings. The ink that was still attached to his limbs tugged on him lightly, but didn’t hinder his movements. As he got closer, the ink gave way and Bendy could see Ben floating in the center of it all. Something wasn’t right.

Ben looked like a ragdoll. He only had one fully formed arm and leg. His human hand was gone. The ink was actually unraveling up to his elbow. The same thing was happening to his leg too. There was a hole in his chest where his heart was. It beat slowly against the broken ribs that surrounded it. What really alarmed Bendy was the fact that Ben wasn’t moving. The demon was falling apart right before his eyes!

 _‘No no no no no! What is he doing?’_ Bendy’s thoughts raced. He finally reached his counterpart. Up close, he could see that Ben was missing a horn and half of his face wasn’t there.

“Ben? BEN! Wake up!” He shook the demon’s shoulders. Ben moaned and could barely muster up a scowl. “C'mon, ya gotta pull yourself together. W-we got people waiting for us!”

The ink demon hissed at him. Bendy winced at the way the ruined part of his face contorted as more ink leaked out. “ **Go awaaay…** ”

“Wha, what are you talking about?” Bendy was dumbfounded. Surely he couldn’t be serious. “We need to leave. Henry and June will be looking for us!”

Ben tsked and tilted his head away from the toon. “ **Jussst let me fffade away.** ”

Bendy’s jaw nearly hit the nonexistent floor. There was no way he was doing that. Not again.

“No!” The little toon shook Ben's shoulders forcefully. “No way! We’re getting out of here, together.”

Ben tried to push him away with his gloved hand, but was too weak to cause any real damage. He was growing frustrated with how persistent the toon was. Ultimately, he gave up and just let the ink threads pull him apart.

“ **Leave. They are waiting fffor you…** ”

“They are waiting for US!” Bendy growled. He couldn't stand here and watch Ben loose his will to exist.

Ben shook his head. “ **No one wantsss me here. I am a demon…** ”

“Well, so am I!” Bendy was staring at him like he had lost his mind.

Ben sighed. Of course Bendy didn’t understand. “ **You’re different. You weren’t the caussse of all the misssery in the ssstudio! You didn’t hurt people.** ”

Bendy flinched. “I hurt Henry. I almost killed him too.”

“ **You weren’t in control. I knew what I wasss doing. I jussst didn’t care.** ”

“That’s not true and you know it!” the little toon snapped. “I’ve seen your memories. I know what happened.”

“ **Doesssn't change the fffact that I did it.** ” Ben laid his head back. More and more of his body was being pulled apart. “ **I am a monssster. Nobody will accept me. Joey sssaid-** “

“SHUT UP!” Bendy had had enough. “I know what Joey said and he's a liar! You have people out there that accept you…”

“ **Like who? Our creator?** ” Ben chuckled. “ **He despises me. He doesn’t want me around. He thinksss…** ” his voice hitches slightly. “ **he thinksss I’m going to hurt…his family.** ”

Bendy closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “I know…I saw that too.” He looked back at the suffering demon with a reassuring smile. “But I also know he regrets what he said. Just, give him another chance, okay?” Ben growled but there was no real anger behind it. “Besides, Aunt June would kill me if I left you here.”

“ **June.** ” Ben whispered her name. “ **Ssshe doesssn't want me around. Ssshe's afraid of me too.** ” He covered his face with his gloved hand.

“Are you kidding me? The same woman that threw a pillow at your face, who chased you out of the kitchen when you got caught stealing cookies, and gave you a kitten to take care of?” Bendy crossed his arms and smirked. “That doesn’t sound like fear ta me.”

Ben huffed and stared off into the distance. “ **Why do you even care?** ”

“Because I let you fade away the first time.” Shame laced Bendy's voice. “You gave me what I needed to escape this place and all I did was watch you disappear.” He looked the demon in his unseen eyes. “I’m not gonna let that happen again. You deserve to be happy too. You deserve to be free.”

Ben didn’t say anything. He just stared back at the little toon. He could see a strong determination dancing in his pie cut eyes. He sighed in defeat. The little toon wasn’t going to let this go.

Bendy reached out and placed his hand on Ben's shoulder. “Look, let me prove to you that Joey was wrong. If I’m right, you’ll gain a new life with people who care about you. If I’m wrong, I won’t try to stop you from fading away.”

“ **How?** ” Ben couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice.

“I have an idea!” A mischievous grin spread across the little toon’s face.

Bendy sat across from Ben and laid out his plan. It was a longshot and they both knew it. The demon looked on with skepticism.

“ **Are you sssure thisss will work?** ”

“Not really.” The little toon shrugged. “But what do we got ta loose?”

Ben hissed and ran his gloved hand down his face. Why was he even entertaining this?

“C'mon, at least give it a try!” Bendy chuckled before holding out his hand. “So, do we have a deal Lanky?”

The demon growled at the unfortunate nickname. It was something that Henry and the toon used to call him when he hunted them down. Ben hesitated for a moment before he reached out and shook Bendy’s hand.

“ **It’sss a deal, you little ink spot.** ”

Thin strands of ink crawled up Bendy’s arm and across his glove. It moved to Ben's hand. The ink wormed its way across his glove. As soon as it reached his exposed wrist, it pierced his skin.

Bendy really hoped his plan didn't blow up in his face. He just hope he was right about Henry and June, and they were able to help his counterpart.

The inky veins grew thicker. It surrounded the two demons and formed something akin to a giant yarn ball. The strands tugged on the ball, yanking them up into the nothingness where they vanished.


	6. Be Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you thought changing who you are would make people accept you, would you do it? Would you give up who you are just to make others happy?

Henry and June huddled together as they watched the waves lightly lapping at the shore. Shadow was curled up behind them. No one spoke for a long time, each sibling lost in their own thoughts. Each was trying to make sense of what just happened. Did they really come face to face with a god? Shadow was alive, but where was Ben and Bendy? Where they really gone?

The silence was finally broken by June. She sighed. “What happens now?”

He had hoped that if they waited long enough, maybe the demons would show up. He realize they couldn’t just sit there. The thought of Bendy being gone hurt him more than the ink that settled in his veins.

“I guess we should try to find the way out of here.” Henry ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t want to leave, but he needed to get his sister to safety. “As far as I know, there's no exit down here. We’ll have to make our way back up to the first floor.”

June took his hand and squeezed it. He still didn’t look well. The ink was still in his body, he was pale, and obviously tired. Then there was the fact that he was looking for any signs of their friends. It really didn’t feel right to just up and leave. Not like this.

“We can stay a little longer. Maybe-"

“No.” Henry cut her off. “I need to get you home before anything else happens.”

June looked conflicted. “But Henry…”

He shook his head. “Let’s go.”

She sadly relented and slowly got to her feet. June had an easier time standing up than Henry did. His limbs felt heavy. That strange weight still sat in his chest. He broke out in a cold sweat and his breathing was still shallow. She slung his arm over her shoulder and Shadow let him lean against it.

They stood there for a few moments so Henry could catch his breath. June didn’t like this. She felt that he wasn’t ready to go anywhere and he was being stubborn. She was about to tell him as much when a strange sound caught her attention.

Something rose up from the inky sea. Henry and June stiffened. Was the Lord of the Ink coming back for them? Could they outrun it if it tried to grab them again? Too many questions swirled through their minds. They were frozen in place.

Instead of a huge demon ready to grab them, it looked like…a giant bubble. It bounced and wobbled as it broke the surface. The outer surface of it was a shiny, oily black. They couldn’t see through it. It rocked from side to side before rolling towards them.

“H-Henry? What is that?” June began to back up, but Henry seemed rooted in place. She tried to pull him back, but he wouldn’t move.

“I’m not s-sure…” Henry felt something stir within the bond. Something familiar. Something that gave him hope. “Bendy?”

The black sphere continued to roll until it hit the shore. It slowed to a stop and wobbled like it was full of fluid. The siblings looked at each other, then back at the sphere. Neither one wanted to move. Shadow whined softly as it stood by June's side.

The bubble bounced three times and suddenly popped. Ink splattered all over the ground leaving two identical figures standing in the middle of it. They both had short limbs, bean shaped bodies, and a round head that floated above their shoulders. They had little horns on their heads, white gloves, bowties, and shiny dancing shoes on their feet. The toons had their eyes closed and stood perfectly still.

No one moved or said a word for a few seconds. They feared it was all an illusion and it could disappear at any moment. Finally, Henry took a shaky step forward and said the first thing that came to mind:

“Bendy?” Two sets of pie cut eyes opened slowly. Big, identical smiles split their faces. Even though they both looked the same, June noticed that one of them had a soft violet glow in the center of his eyes.

“Henry!” One of the Bendys ran up to them. Henry opened his arms just in time to catch the cartoon demon. The little toon burst into tears and buried his face into the old animator's shoulder. Henry hugged his friend tightly and rocked him in his arms.

“Oh bud, I thought I lost you!” Even though his voice was muffled, the little toon apologized over and over between sobs. Their bond was wide open and flooded with all kinds of emotions. Relief and elation was the strongest among them. It was so strong and overwhelming, it made Henry’s legs felt weak.

June was at his side immediately. She tried to blink away the tears that burned her eyes. She was elated to see Bendy alive and well. After what Linda did to him, it was almost too much for her to take. She reached up and touched his cheek just to make sure he was really there. Bendy lifted his head and graced her with a watery smile.

“Aunt June!” She leaned in close enough to press her forehead to his own. She had no words to describe how overjoyed she was.

“Oh sweetheart, you’re alive! But-But I saw…Linda…your heart…” June gingerly touched where Bendy’s heart should be. There was no scars and she could feel a soft thud against her fingertips. He wasn’t laying on the ground like a broken doll because his heart was ripped out. He was here and alive!

Bendy took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m here! I’m alright! I’m alright…” he trailed off as he hiccupped and wiped at his tears.

June startled when something bump against her leg. It was Shadow. The ink cat leaned against her, but it was staring at the other Bendy. For some reason, he stood in the same spot near the shore. He had the same wide grin on his face, but there was something odd about his eyes. He was staring at the group with a great deal of apprehension. It was like he was afraid to get too close.

June started to step away from Henry, but Bendy grabbed her hand again. His eyes were pleading and he whispered, “Be careful.” She looked at the little toon. It felt like he wanted to say more, but didn’t. She pressed her hand against his cheek and she told him that she would be alright. He nodded and let go. The toon wrapped his arms around Henry’s neck and watched her walk off.

Shadow tried to follow her but Bendy called it back. The cat tilted it’s head and looked up at the little toon. Bendy didn’t say anything but offered it a reassuring grin. Shadow huffed and sat on its haunches. It would be ready just incase its creator needed it.

The other Bendy continued to eye June. The closer she got, the easier it was for her to see the glow in his black, pie cut eyes. It was a soft, violet glow. It was HIS color.

June stopped and stood in front of the little toon. He tilted his head up. The grin never leaving his face. Her own lips twitched up into a soft smile.

“Ben.” It wasn’t a question. She knew it was him, even if he looked exactly like Bendy.

“Yup, it’s me. Ben, the Dancing Demon!” He threw his hands up in a flourish before spinning on the tips of his toes. He did a little soft shoe then bowed as though he were performing for an audience.

June chuckled and was bemused by the situation. “But, how are like-" she waved her hand at him. “THIS?”

“Does it matter?” Ben laughed. “I’m on model! I’m finally the toon I was meant to be.”

He grabbed June’s hands and hopped from foot to foot. Ben pulled her around in a kind of manic dance. Even though he was in a smaller form, he was still just as strong. She could barely keep up with him as she tripped over her own feet.

“Ben stop! J-Just wait…wait a minute!” The toon demon let her hands go and June swayed as she got her balance back. “I don’t understand…” Either Ben didn’t hear her or he chose to ignore her. Instead, he waved his hands and jumped up and down.

“See Henry, I did it! I’m just like him!” Ben pointed and June looked over her shoulder. Henry had put Bendy down. The little toon was clinging to his side. From the look on her brother's face, he was just as confused as she was.

“I am just like Bendy now, so you have nothing to worry about!” He looked up at June. His smile strained to stay in place. “See June, you don’t have to be afraid of me anymore…”

“Ben.” As the shock wore off, June was left frowning. Did Ben do this to himself because he didn’t want to scare her? This didn’t feel right.

The little toon winced at June's harsh tone. He chuckled nervously and rubbed his gloves hands together. Ben looked from June to Henry, then back again. He realized they weren’t buying his overly cheerful shtick.

“Wow, tough crowd.” He tugged on his bowtie and mumbled to himself. Ben cleared his throat, slapping that false smile on his face. “Okay, okay, not a problem. I can fix this!”

“Ben.” June tried to get him to stop talking, but he just waved his hands and looked on the verge of a panic attack.

“If being like Bendy isn’t good enough, I can try being someone else…” Ben looked so desperate. She had never seen him like this before. He continued to babble on about making himself a better version of Bendy or something like that. He was speaking so fast, it was hard to understand him.

“BEN!” She had enough of this. She hated seeing him reduced to this. He was beating himself up over something he had no control over. She immediately regretted her harsh tone when the little demon flinched and took a few steps back. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. June tried again, a little softer this time. “Ben, listen to me-“

“Just give me chance! I can be whatever you want me to be…” Ben hung his head to hide his face from her. His tiny shoulders shook and she heard a hitch in his voice. “I’ll do whatever you want. I just… please don’t send me away…”

He sounded so broken, she couldn’t take it anymore. June closed the distance between them. She placed her hands on his trembling shoulders and refused to let him go on like this.

“Ben. Ben, look at me.” June placed her hands on his cheeks and gently lifted his head. Just as she thought, he was crying. Big, fat inky tears rolled down his cheek. She was surprised by how warm they were and how the ink stained her fingers.

June sighed and gave him a warm smile. “When Linda showed me your heart-“ She blinked to fight her own tears. She needed to keep it together. She had plenty to say to him and crying would make that difficult. “I thought you were d-dead.” Her voice hitched but she tried to cover it with a laugh. “Ben, I’m so glad you’re alive!”

“You-You are?” Ben looked up at her with wide, pie cut eyes. The violet glow grew a little brighter.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” The little demon whined and tried to look away, but she wouldn’t let him. “I need you to understand something. I'm glad that you are on model, but you don’t have to be like Bendy or anyone else for that matter.”

The corners of his mouth turned downward. He seemed to be searching her face for something. “I don’t?”

June shook her head. She bet Joey had something to do with this. If that man were here, she’d give him a piece of her mind. “I don’t want you to be anyone but yourself.”

“Be…myself?” Ben narrowed his eyes and stepped back, just out of her reach. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Are you telling me…to be myself?”

“Yes?” June became wary of Ben's behavior. He sounded angry, but she didn’t understand why.

For a long moment, Ben just stared at her. The violet glow in his eyes shrunk to mere pinpricks of light. Just as the silence became uncomfortable, the little toon threw his head back and laughed. The sound was shrill, unhinged, and it made a shiver run up her spine.

“Oh Henry, isn’t this rich?” Ben shouted. “Joey spent years drillin' into my head that I would never be the star of the show if I stayed as that twisted mess of a cartoon character.” His widow's peak furrowed as he glared at June. “I finally achieve perfection. I’m finally the Bendy that everyone loved. I thought this would make you all happy, but she-“ he points and accusing finger at June. “tells ME, I should just “BE MYSELF”!” The last part was said in a perfect imitation of her voice. That unnerved her. June held her hands up to placate him. She even asked him what was wrong. In all honesty, he didn’t know himself. Those two little words snapped something inside of him. He was starting to loose his grip on the form he had now.

“So, you want me to be myself huh?” the demon growled. Ben grabbed at his horns and tugged on them out of frustration. His laughter became hysterical. “Hahahaha, FINE! If that's what you really want, then **I will be myssself!** ”

Ben suddenly hunched over and grunted like he was in pain. His hands fell to his sides and formed shaking fists. Ink ran down his face, covering his eyes. The sound of cracking bones filled the air as he started to change. His limbs grew crooked and long, with his hands growing quite large. The white gloves are stretched and torn as they form into sharp claws. His backbone elongates and twists. The vertebrae poke through his inky skin to form sharp spikes. His ribcage became more pronounced with the glean of white bone breaking through his chest. His bowtie was in complete tatters. A rictus grin spread across his face and his horns appeared bent with them going off in odd angles.

June wanted to move but her feet seemed rooted in place. Ben was almost twice as tall as he normally was. He threw his head back and let loose a guttural cry that echoed off the cave walls. She covered her ears and could barely hear Henry calling out to her. He wanted her to get away from the demon, but she just couldn't move. She was mesmerized by what the demon had done to himself. ' _Oh Ben, is this how you really see yourself?’_

“JUNE!” Henry screamed. He didn’t like where this was going. Ben was too unstable for her to deal with right now. He needed to get her out of there!

He only managed to take a few steps when Bendy grabbed his hand. The little toon was actually pulling him back. “Bendy? What are you doing?”

“I know how this looks, but everything is going to be okay!” The toon's grip on the old animator’s hand grew a little tighter. He gave Henry a shaky smile. “Trust me.”

Henry looked towards the demon that was threatening his sister, then back to his friend. He tried to pull his hand away, but the toon wouldn’t let go. “He’s going to hurt her!”

Bendy shook his head vigorously. “No, he's not.” He tried to sooth Henry’s frustration through their bond.

Shadow came up to Henry and pressed against his side. The large ink cat burbled and looked up at him. Neither one was letting him get any closer. Henry wasn’t sure how long he could just stand here and watch.

“ **Why are you ssstaring at me like ttthat?** ” The demon growled. “ **Thisss is what you wanted. Thisss is who I am!** ” He threw his arms wide open and brandished his claws. “ **I am the demon of Joey Drew Studiosss! The missstake. The soulless monssster that caused all of thisss!** ” She flinched at the rage in his voice. “ **I am the warden to thisss prison. The one who dragsss lossst soulsss back to the ink.** ”

Ben dropped to all fours and stalked towards June. His long claws scraped across the Rocky ground. Ink ran down his body in sticky strands, leaving small puddles with every step he took.

“ **I am the one who tried to kill your brother, multiple timesss.** ” June could hear the sneer in his voice. Ben stopped. His face loomed a few inches from June. “ **I am the one who dragged you and your family to thisss little ssslice of hell. You…you fear me**.” The last part was said in a whisper. “ **Thisss is who I AM!** ”

June stared up at him. Her mouth hung open as her brain tried to make sense of Ben’s little tirade. When it finally hit her, she felt her own temper get the better of her.

“HOW DARE YOU!” June snapped. Ben was taken aback. That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Fear sure, maybe a little bit of anger, but not outrage. Her hard glare was very impressive for someone so short. “Have I EVER asked you to be someone you’re not?” He tilted his head slightly. Now that he thought about it, no, she had never compared him to anyone else.

“No matter how many times you scared the heck out of me, have I ever said, “Gee, why can’t you be more like Bendy?” She was throwing her hands up wildly and yelling at him now. It was quite the funny sight. “No, right? Yeah, because I would never say something like that!”

Henry couldn’t believe this was happening. His sister was scolding the ink demon, again! He massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. He felt a headache coming on. It didn’t help that Bendy was next to him, cheering June on.

She somewhat realized she was shouting at a creature that could cut her in half with a single swipe. It was hard for her to reign in her anger at this point. She didn’t like being accused of something she didn’t do.

“Look, I get it alright!” June ran her fingers through her hair, tugging on a few strands here and there. How could she make him understand that he was more than just a monster.

“You are not Bendy.” He hissed but stopped when she points to him. “You are Ben! You are the one that kept stealing cookies from my kitchen. You are the one that brought my children plush toys just to see them smile. You are the one that lets a little kitten sleep on your chest.”

June smiled warmly. “You are the one that made Sarah feel safe when you both went through that spooky haunted maze.” Ben gawked at her. This wasn’t going how he expected.

She stepped a little closer and held out her hand. “And you are my friend.”

June tried to reach out to him, but Ben recoiled from her touch. He curled up in on himself and was covering his head with his hands. The demon was rocking and mumbling something she could barely make out.

“ **Thisss isn’t right! Joey sssaid…he sssaid… But June and-and Henry… Wasss he wrong? NO NO NO! If-If he wasss wrong then…** ” Ben's whole body shook. “ **What have I-I've been doing all thisss time?!** ”

June approached him carefully. He was in so much distress. She had never seen him like this before. She needed to calm him down before he hurt himself.

“Ben. It’s okay.” She touched his forearm lightly and he stilled. He raised his head slowly and stared at her.

June knew something was wrong. The silence between them was too heavy. His mouth was set in a thin, straight line. The look he was giving her was making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She wanted to pull her hand away, but feared he might take it the wrong way.

All of a sudden, Ben swung his arm and slapped June’s hand away. The force of the blow made her scream in pain. She cradled her injured hand to her chest and took a step back.

“ **You’re lying!** ” He spat at her. His grin was back but it was crazed and shaky at the same time.

“Ben I-" June tried to explain. Everything she told him was the truth! She was hurt and not just physically. Why didn’t he believe her?

Ben stood up. Ink was cascading down his entire body like a tainted waterfall. He shook his head. That sent strings of ink splashing onto June's feet.

“ **You’ve been lying to me fffrom the beginning**.” Ben tilted his head and his grin spread impossibly wide. June could actually see a row of bottom teeth. She had never seen that before. She didn’t know he had that! Wait, was it her imagination or was his head stretching? “ **You sssaid whatever you needed to sssay ssso I wouldn’t kill you.** ”

“No! That’s not true-" Ben cut June off with a deep growl.

“ **You’re jussst like HIM! All of you! You’re all liarssssSSSSAAAARRRGGG!** ”

Ben's scream ended in a roar that shook the cave walls. His grin cracked open and the jagged pieces formed sharp, yellow teeth. His head expanded into a large wedge shape topped with long horns. His eyes were completely gone!

What the demon didn’t gain in height, he gained in width. His chest and shoulders expanded. His arms grew longer, muscular, and ended in huge, clawed hands With strange holes in them. His white gloved and bowtie were completely gone. Ben's legs grew shorter while his arms got longer. Soon he was standing tall on his knuckles.

The change was so abrupt, June stumbled. She tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her back just as Ben's massive hand came crashing down on her. He screeched, opening a mouth wide enough to bite a grown man in half.

Henry raced towards June. He wasn’t at full strength, but he couldn’t just stand there and watch his sister be killed. He couldn’t tell if she was alright or not. Ben's body was blocking her from view.

“JUNE!” The demon hunched over more and growled at him. Henry didn’t care. He needed to save her. Bendy called out to him, but he ignored him. Alarm and fear flooded their bond, but he shut it out. Nothing was going to stop from getting to his sister. Nothing…but Shadow.

The large ink cat ran in front of him to block his path. It stood up on its hind legs and placed its paws firmly on Henry’s shoulders.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” No matter how much he tried to push it away, it wouldn’t budge. The damn cat was stronger than it looked.

“Shadow, what are you doing?!” Was the cat trying to attack him? Was it working with Ben? Standing like this, Shadow’s head was a few inches higher than his own. Henry was expecting it to tear him apart with its teeth and claws.

Shadow just stood there, holding him in place. No sharp teeth tearing out his throat or claws digging into his shoulders. It just stared him down and gurgled sternly.

“Henry wait!” the little toon ran to his side. “You can’t attack him like this. You’ll only end up getting June and yourself killed!”

“He's going to kill her! I have to do something…” Deep down, Henry knew Bendy was right. The ink in his veins still made his limbs felt weighed down. He was breathing heavy too. Even with the little toon back, it would take him some time to recover. Time neither of them had.

Shadow burbled lowly and applied a bit of pressure to Henry’s shoulders. Even the cat knew he didn’t have enough strength to stop Ben.

“Henry please!” Bendy tugged on the end of his sleeve and looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. “If you don’t trust me, trust June.”

“What?” Henry narrowed his eyes at the little toon. “What are you talking about?”

Bendy sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “He’s scared and confused. Fighting him is just going to make things worse.” Sympathy filled the little toon’s eyes. “But Aunt June can reach him. I just know it!”

Shadow let Henry’s shoulders go and dropped down to all fours. It seemed satisfied with Bendy’s explanation. It sat down on its haunches and continued to watch its creator. The little toon was right about his emotions. He was in turmoil, but he had no intention of doing June harm.

Henry hated this. He needed to do something, but he wasn’t able to. Bendy was right. He didn’t stand a chance against the demon, not like this. His body shook with frustration. He called out to June but she wasn’t answering him. Either she was hurt or she couldn’t hear him over the beast's growls.

“He’s not gonna hurt her Henry.” Bendy said softly.

“How do you know?” Henry snapped.

“Because I’ve seen his thoughts.” The little toon smiled brightly. “I know what she means to him.”

* * *

 

When she fell onto her back, she saw a massive hand about to slam down on her. She curled up, screwed her eyes shut, and waited for the pain. She laid there quietly shaking as the claws pressed down around her and that was it. Ben had pinned her to the cold ground.

June dared to open her eyes. Ben's body was hunched over her and he was growling at someone, presumably her brother. She could barely hear him calling her name through all the noise.

“Henry? HENRY! I’m alright!” It was true. Even though Ben held her down, he wasn’t trying to crush her. There was no weight behind his hand. In fact, she could probably wiggle free if he didn’t tighten his grip on her.

June took a moment to collect her thoughts. She couldn’t believe how much everything spun out of control. She thought she understood why it happened and it really saddened her. Ben didn’t deserve the way he had been treated. Joey really left a mess for all of them to clean up. Now, she just needed him to listen to her.

She grumbled and started to wiggle until she got one arm free. Ben shifted above her until his large, wedge shaped head dominated her view. Teeth as long as her fingers hovered a few inches away from her face. June swallowed dryly as she raised her shaking hand to his face.

Ben’s growl rumbled through his broad chest. June ignored the obvious warning. If he really wanted to hurt her, he would have done it by now. She hesitated for just a moment before she pressed her palm against his chin. Ben’s growls tapered off and he grew quiet.

“Ben? You don’t have to do this anymore.” The demon whined softly. “I get it. You’ve had to fight for a long time. You’ve been lied to and manipulated. You’re tired of all of this, aren’t you?” He pressed his chin against her hand and rumbled something that suspiciously sounded like “Uh huh.”

Ben moved away from her. He lifted his hand so she could sit up. He stumbled back and collapsed onto his knees. He was panting heavily and his horns drooped.

“June!” Henry rushed to her side. He grabbed her by her elbow and helped her to stand. She leaned against him heavily.

“Are you hurt?” With his hands resting on her shoulder, he turned June this way and that, looking her over with a critical eye. So far, he didn’t see any cuts or bruises.

“I'm okay. He didn't hurt me.” Henry visibly relaxed and held June until she was steady on her feet. Bendy and Shadow ran up to them.

“Told ya Henry!” the little toon had the biggest grin on his face. Henry just chuckled and ruffled his fingers between his horns. Shadow nuzzled June’s hand, but she hissed and pulled away.

Henry took her hand gently and examined it. It was red and the fingers were a little swollen. “What happened to your hand?”

“It was an accident. Besides-" she pulled her hand out of his and cradled it close to chest. She tilted her head towards Ben. The demon was laying on his stomach with his long arm stretched out before him. His head was on the ground and he keened lowly. It was a heartbreaking sight. “He needs our help.”

Henry agreed. Hen began to see Ben for who he really was. An individual damaged by a man that didn’t care about him. A man that hurt a lot of people in his pursuit of fame and fortune. A man that ruined a lot of lives.

Shadow burbled and wanted to follow them but Bendy stopped it again. The little toon placed his hand on the cat’s back. It tilted its head and let loose a confused hum.

“Let’s give them a little space so they can work their magic.” Bendy chuckled. “They are very good at this.” Shadow sat down and curled its tail around Bendy’s feet. It will put its trust in the little toon.

 

* * *

 

Ben didn’t feel right. This form was so alien to him. It was too heavy, too dense, too out of proportion. He wasn’t even sure what happened. He had gotten so angry. The things June said upset him so much that…he lost it. Next thing he knew, June was on the ground, curled up under his claws and shaking like a leaf. Did he do that to her? Why wouldn’t he remember what happened?

Henry was yelling at him. Maybe the old animator was right. Maybe he was too dangerous to be around June and her family. It seemed like, every time he lost his temper, she caught the brunt of it. He really didn’t mean to! He didn’t want to hurt her anymore…

Ben's horns twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. Henry and June were heading towards him. This was it. They were going to tell him to go away. There was no way Henry was going to let him stay. Is he going to attack him? If he did, Ben wouldn’t resist. He was tired of fighting and frankly, he deserved it.

Ben covered his head with his massive hands and keened softly. He didn’t think June would try to defend him this time. She probably hated him too. He didn’t want to see that look on her face…

“Ben? He shuddered. She was so close. Why was she standing so close?

“Ben?” She didn’t sound angry but he didn’t want to take that chance.

“C'mon Ben, we need to talk to you!” He could feel her small hands tugging on his fingers. Was she trying to pry his hands away from his head? Yeah, that wasn’t happening. She wasn’t nearly strong enough.

“Ben.” Oh no, it was Henry. He was going to yell at him again. He was going to call him a monster and tell him to go away! He's-"

“I’m so sorry.” It felt like the rug was pulled out from under him. Did Henry just…apologize to him? This didn’t make sense…

Ben lowered his hands and lifted his head off the ground. Even laying on his stomach, he was nearly at eye level with them, even if he no longer had visible eyes. Henry and June was looking at him. Neither one looked angry. They looked worried. Worried about him…

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you before.” Henry placed his hand on the beast's massive head. “I was wrong. You really do care about my sister. It was just really hard for me to see that.”

Ben grumbled and shuddered at the old animator’s touch. Henry had never willingly touched him before. The demon knew it was his fault, what with him chasing and trying to kill him most of the time. He really couldn’t blame the man for his mistrust of him. He kind of brought that on himself.

“You risked your life to save all of us.” Henry smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

Henry was thanking him? He wasn’t going to send him away? Ben tried to voice his concerns but all that came out was unintelligible gurgles. This was so frustrating. He couldn’t even speak in this form.

Henry pulled his hand away and the siblings glanced at one another. They seemed to hold a silent conversation with their eyes. Ben didn’t miss the slight nod from June before she looked back at him.

“Ben, you’re not alone anymore.” June placed her hand on his lower jaw. “We’re all here for you. We all want to help.”

Ben looked from June to Henry and then Bendy and Shadow. He searched all their faces for signs of deception. There was none, just a great deal of sincerity from everyone.

No one has ever offered him something like this before. It was almost too much. Hate and fear he could deal with. It had been apart of his existence since the very beginning. He was struggling to deal with THIS! Whatever this was.

Ben bowed his head and moaned. He shivered violently, his ink ran down his body, and formed a small lake under him. He could feel himself growing lighter as he shed his bestial form. It was like a great weight was being lifted off his shoulders literally and figuratively.

Soon Ben was himself again. Not the toon that he was before, but the demon of Joey Drew Studios. The extra ink that made up his beast form slid back down to the shore where it disappeared onto the sea.

Ben sat on his knees staring at his hands. His mismatched hands. How many poor souls had he torn apart with these hands? How could anyone trust him after all of that…

His horns twitched at the sound of light footfalls tapping against the rocky ground. It was June. He didn’t have to look up to know it was her. She always walked lightly, even around her own home. He refused to look up even when she stopped in front of him.

“Ben.” Small, warm hands laid against his cheeks. June gently lifted his head. She was smiling. Why was she smiling?

“I understand why you thought I wasn’t telling you the truth.” He grimaced. June wasn’t like Joey. She didn’t deserved to be called a liar. “I promise, I’ll try to be more honest with you, alright?” Ben nodded stiffly.

“There is one thing I need from you in return.” He frowned. What could she possibly need from him? Was she going to ask for his undying loyalty? To be his master?

“ **Anything.** ” Ben said gravely. He would do anything she asked as long as he got to stay. If she wanted him to serve her, he would do it in a heartbeat. Surely, she would make a better master than Joey Drew.

June reached up and laid her hands where she was sure his eyes would be. She began wiping away the ink that ran down his face. She pushed it away and his body reabsorbed the ink. Soon she was staring at two black pie cut eyes that had a soft violet glow in the center.

“You don’t have to hide anymore.” She brushed away a few stray strands of ink from his widow’s peak. His brow was furrowed in confusion.

“I want to see YOU. Do you understand?” His eyes grew a little wider. When he realized what she really meant, he could only nod dumbly. His eyes were always hidden. It was a good way to intimidate others. Now, she was asking him to give it up. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing she wanted. He couldn’t deny her that.

“Good!” June’s smiled and her green eyes sparkled in the dim light. “Besides, the girls were right. You do have pretty eyes.”

Ben’s head snapped back and he sputtered. June could see the light grey blush that dusted his cheeks. She tried to hide her giggle behind her hands, but it didn’t work.

“ **You are an evil woman!** ” Ben hissed.

She smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Well, better get used to it buster!” June laughed and reached down to grab his hands. She tugged on them. “C'mon, get up!”

Ben grumbled and rolled his eyes. She was already trying to tell him what to do? He supposed Bendy was right. She really wasn’t afraid of him anymore.

He managed to get his feet under him and swayed slightly. It seemed that all those transformations really took a lot out of him. He wasn’t used to full body shapeshifting like that. He had never felt this tired before. After he got everyone home, he really needed to shut down for a few hours.

Henry and June were watching him. They could probably sense how weak he was right now. He knew they wouldn’t take advantage of that, but deep seeded fears were hard to shake. In spite of this, he did feel the need to at least apologize for his behavior earlier. So, he stood a little straighter and cleared his throat. He tried to appear stronger than he actually felt.

“ **Henry…June, I'm sssor-“** before the demon could finish, June had stepped a little closer and wrapped her arms around him.

Ben froze. His hands hovering over her. His eyes were the widest they have ever been with the violet glow mere pinpricks of light. To say he was in complete shock was an understatement. His mind failed to comprehend what was going on. Was she…hugging him? He had never been…hugged before. No one’s ever wanted to get this close to him and those that did, well, he hurt them…

He dared to look down, afraid that what he was experiencing was just his mind playing cruel tricks on him. June’s head barely came up to his bowtie. It wasn’t hard for her to wrap her arms around his midsection since he was so slim.

Ben looked up to see Henry staring at him. He looked the demon right in the eye…and nodded slightly. A soft smile tugged at his lips. The old animator was alright with his sister being so close to him? Did he really trust him now?

Bendy was next to Henry. The little toon had the biggest grin on his face and was hopping from foot to foot. He would point at Ben, then wrap his spindly arms around himself in a strange sort of self hug. His head bobbed so vigorously that the little demon’s head looked like it was going to roll off his shoulders.

Shadow burbled and leaned against Henry’s side. Even though the cat's facial expressions didn’t change, Ben could feel its happiness. There was a hopefulness there too. It knew he was worried, but it wanted him to try.

Ben looked down at his hands again. They took so many lives, but June willingly put her life in those same hands. Just like with Cloudy, she was putting her trust in him. That small revelation caused something deep within him to crack. The most absurd thought crossed his mind and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“ **Heh, why are you ssso ssshort?** ” Ben was slightly annoyed by the shakiness in his own voice.

“Humans aren’t normally as tall as you!” June huffed. It sounded muffled and he swore he heard her breath hitch at the end.

The feeling that something was broken inside of him grew stronger. He hunched over and wrapped his long arms around her. He held June loosely for fear of accidentally hurting her.

Ben was surprised by the fact that she didn’t shudder at his touch like she normally did. He was half expecting her to pull away out of disgust, but she didn’t. She hugged him even tighter.

“C’mon now, I’m not gonna break!” June tapped him on the back.

“ **Humansss are ssso f-fragile.** ” Ben's laughter slowly dissolved into soft sobbing. He held her tighter and laid his head on her shoulder. He shut his eyes tight to fight back the tears that flowed whether he wanted them to or not.

June had done it. She had done the one thing no one else had been able to. She broke him. All the walls he put up to protect himself from the horrors of this place. The walls he used to shield himself from the pain he received and pain he caused others. All of it, crumbled to dust at her feet, leaving him raw and exposed to the world. She didn't do it with force, but with kindness and compassion.

He was vulnerable now. He didn’t have the energy to protect himself. One harsh word from June would shatter him. He took a chance to put his well being in her small hands. He trusted her.

She rubbed his back and whispered words of comfort. Words spoken so softly that it made his horns twitch. Words that caused him pain, but at the same time, gave him great relief. His tears continued to fall, ink staining June’s shoulder. Ink that his body refused to reabsorb. That ink contained his pain, his rage, and he refused to hold onto that anymore. He didn’t have to suffer anymore. He was finally free.

* * *

 

Ben wasn’t sure how long June held him like this. At some point, she stopped speaking. She didn’t need to say anymore. She helped him. The pain was gone and he was left with a sense of peace. Something he hadn’t experienced before. She saved him, again. He needed to voice his thanks.

He blinked a few times to clear his tears away. Ben was sure he had no more tears to shed. At least he hoped he did. He was sure it wasn’t healthy to loose that much ink. Plus, he just ruined June’s nice dress too. He was surprised she wasn’t yelling at him right now.

Ben froze. Something wasn’t right. He could feel something warm and wet against his chest. June was shaking in his arms and was she…crying? Oh no no no, what did he do?

He straightened up, laid his hands on her shoulders, and pushed her away. June's eyes were red and puffy. Tears and ink stained her cheeks. She tried to say something to him, but her voice kept hitching. Ben looked her over, but he didn’t see any injuries. But he must have hurt her! Why else would she be crying?

“ **June! I’m ssso sssorry! What'sss wrong?** ” Ben started to panic. He pulled his hands away as though he burned himself. He always did something to harm her. “ **Did I hurt you? I’m sssorry! I’m sssorry! I c-can fix thisss!** ”

June said something to him, but he barely heard her. There was a voice in his head berating him for causing her pain.  He couldn’t even hug her without messing up!

“ **June, pleassse don’t cry!** ” Ben's hands hovered over her. He was afraid to touch her again. “ **I’m sssorry! Pleassse don’t be angry. I can do better! I’m ssso sssor-** “

A strong hand gripped his forearm. It startled Ben, causing him to stop his rant. He turned to see Henry standing there. He thought the man might be angry with him, but he wasn’t. He smiled with a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes. Ben was very confused by this.

“Ben, it’s okay. You didn’t hurt her.” Henry pointed to his sister and chuckled. “Those are happy tears.”

The demon blinked. That didn’t make sense to him. Tears were shed if someone was sad or in pain and he was usually the cause of it. At least in his past experiences.

He turned back to June and squinted. She was giggling and trying to wipe her tears away. Ben reached out with his gloved hand but stopped short of touching her cheek. The memory of what happened to Alice came roaring back and he hesitated.

“It’s alright.” June’s smile was a little wobbly but sincere. “You’re not gonna hurt me.”

Ben cupped June's cheek in his large hand and wiped away her warm tears with his thumb. Her skin didn’t tear away. It didn’t melt in his hand. She was fine. Relief washed over him.

“ **Tearsss can be happy?** ” June closed her eyes and smiled. She really did trust him. That made his inky heart feel so light.

“Tears can mean a lot of things.” Henry gave Ben's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Happiness being one of them.” He pulled June into a one arm hug. She leaned into her brother and reassured Ben that Henry was right as she wiped at her eyes furiously.

Bendy and Shadow ran up to the rest of the group. Bendy ran into Henry and June's arms. The little toon was surrounded by warmth and love. He nearly melted into their arms when he thought how close he came to loosing them. He never wanted this to happen again.

Ben stumbled slightly when Shadow stood on its hind legs and nearly tackled him. It purred and rubbed its head against his chest. It was overjoyed and thankful to its creator for bringing it back. The demon chuckled and pat the ink cat on the head. He was happy to see his creation as well.

The demon looked up only to see June staring at him. She smiled and nodded slightly. Ben returned the gesture. They all made it. This place couldn’t harm them anymore. The shadows of Joey Drew Studios will no longer darken their lives.

There was a loud splash that came from the inky sea. The dark substance began to bubble and froth at the surface.

“Henry, is that hand coming back?” June didn’t want to have anything to do with that thing. She finally got everyone back and she didn’t want to lose them again!

“I don’t know.” He made sure he kept his arm around her as the group backed away from the shore.

As the surface continued to bubble, tiny balls of golden light emerged with every pop. Dozens upon dozens of gold orbs floated in the air. The cavern grew brighter with ever light that broke the surface.

The golden spheres danced and flickered across the dark surface like large fireflies. It was beautiful in an ethereal sort of way. There was nothing natural about the way they zipped through the air. The ghost lights left the sea and circled the group, causing them to stand closer and closer to one another.

“What’s happening?” The glow looked so familiar, but Henry wasn’t sure if these things meant them harm or not.

“It’s okay! They’re not here to hurt us.” The little toon said excitedly.

“They?” June looked to Ben for answers.

“ **The Soulsss.** ”

They watched as the orbs of light stopped moving. They were still surrounded, but the balls of golden lights didn’t come any closer. Three orbs broke from the group and floated towards Henry and June.

The three stopped a few feet from the siblings. Their glow grew brighter and brighter. There was a flash that caused everyone to shield their eyes. When they were able to see again, three figures stood before them. Their bodies were vaguely human with their forms cast in golden silhouettes. One of them even appeared to be female with long, wispy hair floating around her head. Three sets of black eyes were staring back at them.

“ _Henry! June! I’m so glad you’re safe!_ ” One of the silhouettes floated towards them. The voice, though hollow and echoing, sounded familiar.

“Norman?” Henry gasped.

Norman's ghostly form didn’t have a mouth, but from the way his eyes crinkled, they knew he was smiling.

“ _Yup, it’s me in the flesh! Well, so ta speak._ ” The spirit chuckled at his terrible joke while his two companions groaned.

“Sammy? Alice?” June couldn’t keep the astonishment out of her voice.

“ _It-it’s actually Susie, not Alice_.” The wispy haired one corrected timidly.

“Susie.” June smiled and said the spirit's name properly.

Susie’s form grew a little brighter before being hugged by the spirit standing next to her.

“ _I’m glad to have you back, Susie_.” Sammy thought her mind had been lost to the ink forever. It was sad, but he was glad that in death, she found her way back to them.

Norman floated closer to the siblings. He seemed to be rubbing his faded hands together. The smile in his eyes were gone as well.

_“I-I just wanted ta apologize. Linda trapped me and Sammy in that…monster! We didn’t want to do what she said, but we had no control over it.”_ He hung his head.

“ _We tried to fight it, but the spell was too strong. We didn’t want to hurt you. We’re so sorry_.” Sammy held Susie tighter as she apologized for her actions as well. Not just for this, but for what she did to Henry when he returned to the Studio the first time.

Both siblings forgave the spirits and knew that it wasn’t their fault. The ink had a powerful hold on all of them and that they were finally freed from it.

“I wish there was another way.” Henry’s voice was tinged with guilt. “Maybe if I had returned sooner…or not left at all-"

“ _Don’t!_ ” Susie cut him off before he could go any further. “ _Joey wouldn’t have listened to you if you stayed. You would have ended up dead like the rest of us._ ”

“ _Besides, we can’t return to our bodies. They are long gone by now_.” Sammy waved a hand at the other souls around them. “ _None of us want to be trapped in bodies made from ink anymore. This is the best option for us_.”

“ _I still can’t believe it! You actually did it!_ ” Norman’s boisterous voice rang out. He turned to Bendy with his arms wide open. “ _You set us free!”_ All the golden souls that surrounded them bounced about as different voices whispered their thanks.

“Aww shucks.” Bendy blushed. He held his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. “It’s not just me you should thank.” He tilted his head towards Ben. All of the souls turned their attention to the demon. The cavern echoed with their thanks and gratitude.

“ **D-Don't thank me…** ” Ben hunched over and wrung his hands together nervously. He just shook his head. He didn’t deserved their thanks. This was all his fault to begin with. If he had came out perfect, maybe Joey wouldn’t have sacrificed all these people.

“ _Ben_.” He looked up to see Sammy’s soul floating close to him. “ _You were as much of a victim of Joey’s hubris as the rest of us. We know that now. None of us blame you for what happened._ ”

Henry reached out and touched the demon's forearm. He agreed with Sammy. He hoped that Ben will tell him what happened someday. Before he could answer, a huge explosion startled everyone.

A large orb that burned bright crimson burst forth from the inky sea. It zoomed towards them and came to a stop ten feet from the shore. It hovered there, looming above the group like a vulture eyeing a corpse.

The soul shuddered and stretched. Limbs began to form before their eyes. Soon a familiar figure hovered before them. Her hair fanned out like flames above her head. She glared balefully at the group.

“ **Linda.** ” Ben hissed. There was a loud splash, a deep growl, and a large form stood next to him. It was Bendy in his monstrous form. The demon cracked his knuckles then raised his huge fists. The massive toon grumbled something and gave Ben a sharp nod. The message was clear. Bendy would stand with him to protect their friends.

The demons shielded Henry and June from Linda's sight. Ben was sure the hateful woman couldn’t do much in that state, but they weren’t taking any chances.

The other souls crowded behind Norman, Sammy, and Susie who stared back at their tormentor defiantly. She had no power over them. She was simply a lost soul like the rest of them.

When Linda realized that no one was intimidated by her, she crossed her arm over her chest and huffed. The way her eyes were tilted, she appeared to be smirking.

“ _Well, look at all of you. Finally grown backbones huh. What now? Are you going to gang up on me?”_

“It’s over Linda.” Henry shook his head. “You’re free like everyone else. Just leave us alone.”

Linda’s mirthless laughter echoed throughout the cavern. “ _You’re right. I’m finally free! I will leave this place far behind me._ ”

“ _Maybe I’ll move on-_ " Linda pointed a translucent finger at Henry and June. “ _Or maybe I’ll pay you both a visit. I’m sure your little girls won’t mind having a ghost haunting them Juney._ ”

June was horrified at the thought of this spiteful woman scaring her girls. Shadow stood next to her. Its claws were out and it gurgled angrily. It wasn’t going to let Linda anywhere near the children.

“ _Your demons wont be able to protect you or your family from me._ ” Linda sneered. “ _I can show up anywhere, at any time, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!_ ”

“ _My body may be gone,”_ she floated further back just incase the three other spirits below tried something. “ _but my soul is eternal. I have enough hate for Henry to keep me going for a long long time._ ”

That threat alone was enough to put everyone on edge.

“ _Well, time for me to go, but I’ll be seeing you real soon, Henry._ ” Bendy roared and threw his fists in the air. He wanted her to come back down so he could tear her apart. No one threatened Henry while he was around.

“ _And as for the rest of you,_ ” she swept her hand over the group. “ _you can all go to hell for all I care!_ ”

Linda turned her back and began to float towards the cavern ceiling when the sea erupted below her. A massive, gloved hand shot out! She tried to get away, but it was fast and it had an incredibly long reach. It grabbed her and held her tight.

“ _NO! NOOO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS! I’M FREE! I’M FREE!_ ” The hand tightened around the raging spirit. No matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn’t let her go.

“ _Henry! June! Please, HELP ME! I-I promise, I’ll go away. You’ll never see me again. Tell it to let me go!_ ”

Ben and Bendy glared up at Linda as the hand squeezed her. Neither demon said a word or made a move to stop the third. As far as they were concerned, she was getting exactly what she deserved.

Henry just shook his head. He had no control over Ben and Bendy. They could do whatever they wanted. He definitely had no control over whatever was attached to that arm.

“I’m sorry Linda.” He whispered. Henry really meant it too. He never wanted this for her or anyone else, even if she did put his family through hell.

The long arm twitched before pulling her down into the sea. Linda’s screams were swallowed up by the crashing waves as she was pulled to the inky depths. The sea settled and soon a hush fell over the entire cavern.

Nobody said a word. They all tried to absorb what just happened. The quiet stretched on until a snort caught everyone’s attention.

“ _Couldn’t have happened ta a nicer lady_.” Norman chuckled.

“Is it over?” June was shaken. She wasn’t sure how much of this she could take.

Bendy reached out and wrapped his thick arms around Ben, Henry, and June, pulling them into a bear group hug.

June yelp and giggled as she was pressed against Bendy's chest. Henry chuckled and patted the large demon on his forearm. Ben hissed and tried to wiggle out of his counterpart's iron grip. Shadow simply jumped up onto Bendy’s shoulders. It watched everyone get smothered from the safety of its high perch.

Norman’s eyes crinkled at the unusual sight. “ _I told Henry he had a special family_.”

“ _You mean weird family_.” Sammy remarked.

“ _Sammy!_ ” Susie swatted his shoulder. “ _Be nice_.”

The cavern filled with the excited whispers of the golden souls. They zipped around the group like bees.

“What’s going on?” Henry hoped this didn’t mean they were in danger.

_“It’s time for us to go_.” Norman sighed. _“I don’t know where we’re going, but it has to be better than here_.”

Bendy released everyone and returned to his toon form. They all watched as the glowing orbs floated towards the cavern ceiling. Their golden glow caused strange shadows to play across the walls. It took the form of shadowy human figures that twirled and danced their way upwards. Laughter and joy filled the air until, one by one, the souls disappeared into the darkness far above.

The cavern grew quiet as most of the souls moved on. Only three remained. Norman, Sammy, and Susie.

“What’s wrong?” June’s eyes were filled with worry. “Why haven’t you moved on with the others?”

The ghostly trio looked at one another before Sammy cleared his throat. “ _Could you…do us a favor?_ ”

Norman floated towards June. She was a little confused. She wasn’t sure what she could do for them, but if it helps the three to move on, she was more than happy to help.

“ _Can you tell your beautiful little girls, "Thank you._ ” _from the three of us?”_ June could hear the smile in Norman's voice.

“ _Their friendship help us hold onto our humanity these past few months_.” Sammy said solemnly. “ _We will forever be grateful for that._ ”

“ _We’re sorry we won’t be able to spend the Holidays with them_.” There were hints of sadness and regret in Susie's voice.

June sniffled and wiped a few stray tears away. She would have to tell the girls. They will be sad, but she will explain that all of this is a good thing.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. Henry gave her a knowing glance. He knew what she was thinking and he’ll be there to help.

“I promise. I’ll tell them.” June reached out to touch Norman’s hand, but her fingers past right through him. She flinched at the frigid tingles that ran up her arms. At this moment, it really hit her that the three were moving on and they’ll never see them again.

“Thank you for being their friends and for keeping them safe.” June fought the sob that crawled up her throat. “We will never forget you.”

Norman sighed. His silhouette started to fade. “ _Thank you._ ”

The trio floated towards the ceiling. Their silhouettes faded until only three golden spheres remained. They rose higher and higher until their light was swallowed up by the darkness.

The floodlights dimmed and flickered. There was a distant groan of machinery and a strange clanking sound coming from the pipes.

“ **The machine isss dying. Without soulsss, it hasss no power.** ”

“Good.” As far as Henry was concerned, the damn thing could rust in peace. If it were up to him, he’d tear it all apart. He just hoped that no one will ever find it and repeat the mistakes of Joey Drew.

June didn’t think she had anymore tears to shed, but she was wrong. Henry wrapped her up in his arms and she cried into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and told her that everything will be alright.

Ben, Bendy, and Shadow stood back and watched the siblings.

“ **Ssshe did that for me…** ” Ben was amazed by how easily they comforted one another. The demon wasn’t sure if he was capable of that.

“Yeah, he’s pretty good at that. I can’t tell you how many times Henry helped me.” Bendy smiled. “We’re both lucky to have a creator like him.” Ben agreed. He felt they were lucky to have both of them in their lives.

Henry held his sister until she began to calm down. She was very glassy eyed and tear tracks stained her cheeks. Surprisingly, she was smiling again. It wasn’t a joyous smile, but a smile none the less.

“I-I think I’m alright now. I haven’t cried this much in years.” June chuckled and rubbed her eyes. They looked really red too. “I'm just…tired.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long night. Let’s get you home.” Henry turned to the demons. “Ben?”

Ben pointed to the dark sea. “We need to leave thisss area. I can’t control thisss chaotic ink.”

Before anyone could make a move to leave, a large figure rose up from the ink. It was the large, gloved hand! Its long arm twitched as it wiggled its fingers. Henry pushed June behind him. They took a few steps back as the hand hovered over them.

“What do you want from us?” Henry shouted. The fingers stopped wiggling, then it pointed at the siblings. “I don’t understand.”

The creature waved its hand toward the cave wall near the cages. Ink crawled up the wall and formed a large, black spot. The spot began to swirl until it formed a long, dark tunnel. Deep within, a soft yellow light shone at the other end.

“I’ve seen this before but,” Henry eyed the tunnel suspiciously. “where does this go? Is it a trap?”

Ben approached the stone wall and placed his hand near the edge of the tunnel opening. He peered into it for a few moments, then sighed, and his body visibly relaxed. Looks like the third was helping them.

“ **Thisss leadsss back to your home, June. It meandersss a bit, but I can get usss there sssafely.** ” It was just like the tunnel that brought Bendy and June here.

The siblings were shocked that the hand was sending them home. They both expressed their thanks to which it simply bobbed up and down before disappearing back into the sea.

“C'mon Juney, let’s go. Jason and the girls are probably worried sick about you.” Henry took her hand and lead her over to the tunnel.

The group assembled near the entrance. It was agreed that Ben would lead the way. Henry, Bendy, and June would follow with Shadow bring up the rear. This way they could watch each other’s back just in case…

Henry reached down and picked Bendy up. The little toon wrapped his arms around the old animator’s neck and curled up in his arms. He could feel the little toon's weariness through their bond. The Studio had put a strain on all of them. He was glad they were leaving this place far behind them.

Henry reached fir June's hand again, but she didn’t take it. She was staring into tunnel. Her hands were pressed against her chest and she was shaking.

“Hey June-bug, are you okay?” She shook her head and took a few steps back. Her breathing was quick, shallow, and she shook even more.

“I-I-I've never seen the inside before. I w-was unconscious before…” June shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t k-know if I can do this!”

Henry tried to reach for her again when Ben shuffled up to her. He purposely stomped his feet so he wouldn’t scare June anymore than she already was. He placed his gloved hand on her back and waited for her to look up at him. When she did, he held out his human hand to her.

“ **I will keep you sssafe. I promissse.** ” She looked him in the eyes. With them uncovered, she could see the sincerity in them. She knew he meant what he said. He didn’t make promises lightly.

June looked down at his open palm. She took a few deep breaths before placing her hand in his own. His long fingers curled and he held her hand gently. Ben escorted her to the tunnel entrance. He waited for her to gather up her courage.

“ **Are you ready?** ” Ben realized how far they’ve really come. He gained her trust and friendship. She even saved him from himself. He really appreciated everything she had done for him.

June took a few deep breaths. She was still shaken but she knew this was the only way to get home. She leaned against Ben's side and told him she was ready. Her bravery brought a smile to his face.

Ben and June stepped through the portal with Henry, Bendy, and Shadow close behind. The portal entrance sealed with a splash and the ink ran down the rock wall. The floodlights flicked one last time before the cavern was plunged into darkness. The only sound that could be heard was the lapping of gentle waves against the shore. The inky sea grew still once more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much angst! Going to need a healthy dose of wholesome after this.


	7. Tis The Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry, June, and the demons finally make it back home, just in time for Christmas. Ben will get to experience this for the very first time. Presents will be given and important lessons will be learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, enjoy this extra long, full of fluff, conclusion to my story.

From the outside, the Anderson home appeared like any other home in their neighborhood.  No one knew of the turmoil that befell it just a few hours ago.

Jason sat on the couch with Beth and Sarah curled up against his sides.  He had his arms around their tiny shoulders as he held them close.  This was the only thing that kept him from jumping into his rig and booking it to Joey Drew Studios.

When the children got home from school, he tried to break the news to them gently.  He didn’t want to scare them.   They were  worried, of course, but much to his surprised, not scared.  They had complete faith that their uncle Henry and Ben were going to bring their mother and Bendy home.  Their belief was so strong, it even affected him.  Jason knew that his brother-in-law wouldn’t stop until he brought them home and with Ben by his side, they’ll bring them back safe.  They just had to…

He stared down at the little kitten curled up on his lap.  Jason had a heck of a time getting that ink off his paw. The stuff clung to Cloudy's fur stubbornly.  The kitten mewled and tried to squirmed out of his hand but he was determined to get it off.

Jason thought about the mess upstairs and how badly he wanted to get that ink off his wall.  He’d never felt so violated before in his life.  Helplessness gnawed at his nerves every time one of the girls asked when their mom and cousin was coming home.  He really didn’t know and it was eating at him.  All they could do was wait and pray for their safe return.

The quiet was shattered by a thump coming from upstairs.  Beth and Sarah jumped off the couch and ran for the staircase.  Jason set Cloudy on the couch and stood close to the children.  If it was dangerous, he would pull them out of the way.  Lucky for them, it was quite the opposite.

One loud thump turned into many smaller ones as someone made their way to the top of the steps.  One by one, familiar figures slowly descended the staircase.

“Mommy!”  Jason released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.   She was finally home and she was safe!  June looked a little bedraggled as she stumbled down the stairs but she didn’t appear to be hurt.  The girls nearly knocked her off her feet but he managed to catch her, wrapping her up in his arms. 

“Juniper.”  She sagged in his arms as she pulled the girls in for a group hug.  June tried to say something but she couldn’t get the words past the lump forming in her throat.

Henry, Bendy, Shadow, and Ben stood off to the side to watch the touching reunion.  The old animator sighed and placed one hand on Bendy’s head and the other on Ben’s back.  He told both demons that they did good and he was proud of them.

“Aw shucks Henry, I couldn’t have done it without Ben!”  The little toon's eyes were practically sparkling from the praise.  His grin was so wide, it nearly split his face.

“ **Ttthank you?** ”  Ben was somewhat taken aback.  Not just from Henry’s kind words, but how happy he felt from it.  He didn’t think it would mean so much coming from a man he tried to kill months ago.  This was a little awkward for him but he got a reprieve when the children’s attention was on them.

Beth and Sarah ran up to their uncle and he scooped them up in his arms.  He reassured them that no one was hurt and they were all safe.  As soon as Henry put them down, Bendy and Shadow were tackled by the girls. Their laughter filled the air and their happiness was infectious.  Even Ben was smiling.

Jason shook Henry’s hand then pat him on the back.  The man looked tired but absolutely grateful for having them home, safe and sound.  He hugged Bendy and scratched Shadow behind its horns before approaching the tall demon.

“Ben.”   Jason held out his left hand.  The demon thought it was odd that the father would want to shake his hand.  Ben stared at it for a few seconds before grasping it tentatively with his human hand. 

If anyone were to ask, Ben swore up and down that he was just exhausted.  That’s how Jason was able to tug on his arm hard enough for him to loose his balance, and pull him into a hug.  Surely that man wasn’t strong enough to get the better of him.  Ben was so tired, he practically leaned against the shorter man.

“Thank you.”  Jason whispered.  His voice thick with emotion.  “Thank you for bringing her back to me.”

The demon was at a loss for words.  He knew the man might be grateful to him, he just didn’t expect to be embraced so warmly.  

Jason let Ben go with a hearty pat on the back.  Soon he was beseeched by two little girls that attached themselves to his legs.  Ben stumbled a bit but managed to keep his footing.

“Hey look at his eyes!” Beth squealed as a huge smile spread across her face.

“Oh wow!”  Sarah gasped, then giggled.  “We can see his pretty eyes again.”

Ben grumbled but he couldn’t cover them up again.  June asked him not to.  So now, he had to stand there and let them compliment him on his eyes.  It made him feel uncomfortable.  He didn’t know how to handle a compliment.

* * *

June stood back and watched Ben squirm under the girls' scrutiny and praise.  It amazed her how someone so terrifying could barely stand something good being said about him.  It shows what very little kindness he was given in the past.  She was going to fix that.

“What happened to your hand?”  She was startled when Jason gently took her hand and examined it.

“It was an accident.” June hissed.  He hummed and turned her hand over.  She was glad he didn’t ask too many questions.  She was too tired to talk about it now.

“Alright.  Let’s put some ice on this, then I’ll bandage it up.”

“Okay…” June looked past her husband when Bendy joined the girls in embarrassing Ben.  The lanky demon looked like he wanted to strangle the little toon, but couldn’t because Henry was there.  The scene was silly and heartwarming.  Her family was together again.  She should be overjoyed, but she wasn’t. 

She needed to tell the girls about the inky trio.  They need to know what happened.  They will never see them again.  June didn’t know how she was going to tell them.  No matter how she spun it, they were going to be upset, and she didn’t want to do that to them.

“June?  Juniper, what’s wrong?”  June hadn’t realized she was crying until Jason wiped away her stray tears.  He gently took her shaking hand into his own.

“I-I have to tell them something.  It’s important, but-but I don’t know if I can…” Her breath hitched and she wiped at her eyes with the palm of her uninjured hand.  “I don’t know what to do!”

“Hey hey, it’s alright.”  He wrapped his arms around her.  She sobbed softly into his chest.  “Whatever it is, can wait until tomorrow.”

June shook her head.  This wasn’t something she wanted to keep from the children.  She knew they would ask about the trio of sooner or later, so she needed to tell them now.

“Listen, you’ve had a long day, you’re hurt, and you’re tired.  Whatever you need to tell them can wait until tomorrow.”

She pushed away from him and stared into her husband’s eyes.  Sometimes it bugged her the way he could stay calm sometimes.

“But-but tomorrow is-"  Jason stopped her by pressing his finger against her lips.

“I know what tomorrow is and it’ll be okay.  Right now, I need to look at your hand and we all need a good night’s rest.”

June hesitated but ultimately agreed.  She was just too tired to deal with this right now.  Jason lead her into the kitchen where he applied an ice pack to her hand while rummaging around for the first aide kit.  By the time they walked back into the living room, Ben was sitting on the couch while the girls hammered him with a million questions.  She chuckled.  The demon looked as tired as she felt.

Jason whistled to get everyone's attention.  “Alright guys, it’s time for bed.”

The girls started to protest, but he reminded them what tomorrow was and that they could talk to Ben later.  

“Well, you know what happens if you stay up too late?”  Beth and Sarah shook their heads.  “You’ll oversleep and completely miss Christmas!”  Both girls gasped.  Neither one wanted to miss that special day.

“C'mon munchkin,  mornin' will be here before you know it.”  Henry smiled and scooped Beth up in his arms.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her up the stairs.

“Lets go, chipmunk.”  Jason picked up Sarah and hugged her.  She settled in his arms as they headed up the steps.

June was about to follow them when she felt a light nudge at her leg.  It was Shadow.  It looked up the stairs, then back at her.  She reached out and pat it on the head and told it to go on up.  Shadow gurgled and trotted after the group.  Looks like the ink cat will be spending the night in the girls' room.

She looked towards the couch.  Ben was slumped in the seat.   She supposed he was going to head back to the studio soon.  The thought of him in that empty place, all alone, saddened her.  She couldn’t stop him though, so all she could do was hope that he'd come back.  

Bendy was watching Ben with a contemplative gaze.  “Bendy?  Sweetheart, are you coming?”  The little toon blinked and looked up at her.  June wondered what he was thinking about.

“I’ll be up in a minute, aunt June.”

She wished Ben a good night and got an exhausted moan in response.  June just shook her head and dragged herself up the stairs.  She was sure she was going to pass out any moment now.

* * *

Ben had never felt so tired in all his existence.  Those transformations he did back in the studio really put a strain on his body.  He needed to get up and head home, but June's couch felt so comfortable.  Maybe he had enough energy to open one more portal.  He could find a nice, quiet spot to curl up and shut down.  At least he wouldn’t have to worry about something sneaking up on him.  All the trapped souls were gone.  The studio was truly vacant now…so why did that bother him?

“Whew, that was a close one!”  Bendy hopped onto the couch and sat next to him.  Ben growled.  How come he had so much energy after all of that?

“We did it!  We made it out alive and that place can’t hurt us anymore!"  While he agreed with the little toon, he was annoyed by his cheerfulness.

Ben's mood lightened when he felt something paw at his leg.  It was his little Cloudy.  The kitten was mewling and trying to get his attention.  He scooped the little cat up in his hand and laid him on his chest.

Cloudy purred and rubbed his cheek against the demon’s bowtie.  He made his way up to Ben's shoulder where he head butted his cheek and chin.  Soon, the kitten settled against his neck.

The corners of Ben’s mouth twitched into a soft smile as he reached up and ran his fingers through the kitten’s soft, grey fur.  As silence filled the room, something just occurred to him.  

“ **You lied to me.** ”  Bendy had the good graces to flinch at the other’s accusation.  

“Yeah, I know.”  He chuckled and turned slowly to face him.

Ben narrowed his eyes.  “ **Why?** ”

Bendy sighed.  “You were giving up!  I couldn’t just sit back and watch you fade away.  Not again.”  The little toon sagged into the couch cushions and crossed his arms over his chest.  He looked like a pouting child.

“So, yeah, I lied to you and I’m not sorry either.  I needed a way to bring you back with me.  I knew Henry and June would straighten things out later.”  Bendy gave his grouchy counterpart a smug grin.  “And it worked!  You’re here with the rest of us!”

Ben hated to admit it, but he was right.  The fact that the little toon was able to trick him, really made his ink boil.  

“ **But WHY?  Why did you do thisss for me?** ”  

“Because!” Bendy shouted.  He looked absolutely frustrated.  “Because you gave me what I needed to escape the Studio with Henry.  So, it was only right that I give you what you needed to be the perfect toon.”

“I didn’t expect you to blow up at aunt June and transform like that.”  A look of guilt flittered across Bendy's face.  “I guess I gave you that ability too.”

“ **You little ink ssspot!** ” Ben groaned.  He couldn’t believe this.  Now he can turn into a hulking beast too?  Like he didn’t have enough to worry about.

Ben reached over and flicked one of Bendy’s horns with the tips of his fingers.   The little toon yelped and shoved the demon’s hand away.

“Hey, quit it Lanky!  That hurts!”  Bendy scowled and rubbed his horn.  

Both demons glared at each other for a long moment before they dissolved into exhausted chuckles.  They were too worn out to stay angry at one another.

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn to control it in no time.” The little demon smirked.  “I can even teach you if you want!”

Ben huffed and rolled his eyes.  He didn’t need his help.  He could figure it out on his own.  Can’t be that hard if the little ink spot figured it out.  

The demon’s eyes wandered around June’s living room.  Without the ink covering his eyes, he could see everything so clearly.  The silver and gold tinsel twinkled in the dim light.  Ornaments of every size, shape, and color hung from the large tree in the corner.  It felt so warm and cozy around him.  It was strange but nice at the same time.

Bendy yawned and rubbed at his eyes.  It was the first sign of exhaustion the little demon showed all night. Looks like their adventure was finally catching up to him.

He knew he needed to leave.  He really did, but this darn couch was so comfortable.  He had a hard time getting up.  It didn’t help that every time the little ink spot yawned, he made his own eyelids feel heavier.  It even felt like Cloudy gained weight while curled up against his neck.  The little kitten was a purring ball of warmth.   This…felt…really…nice…

* * *

Henry was so glad they got out of that situation alive.  He hoped that this was the last time he’d ever step foot back in the Studio.  He never wanted to bring that hell into his family’s lives.  At least it was over and he could finally relax.

Henry shuffled down the hall quietly.  He helped tucked the children in for the night.  They all needed to get some sleep before the mayhem of Christmas morning hit.

As he made his way down the stairs, one thing was still bothered him: What were they going to do with Ben? 

Henry supposed if the demon didn’t want to go back to the Studio, he could make room for him in his home.  It would be a little awkward, but he owed it to him to try.  They definitely needed to talk and clear the air between them.  Then maybe, they can finally move forward.

“Hey bud, you ready to hit the sack?”  Henry didn’t receive an answer but he thought he heard snoring.  He also noticed that Ben was still here.

“Bendy?”  He crept towards the couch.  As he got closer, he heard two different snores coming from that direction.  Henry made his way around the couch and was surprised at what he saw.

Ben had his head tilted back and his mouth wide open.  Cloudy laid around his neck like a furry scarf.  Bendy was curled up against the other demon’s side.  All three were sound asleep.

“I’ll be damned.”  Henry chuckled and shook his head.  “Didn’t think he actually slept.”  When he thought about it, Bendy always got tired after transforming when they were trapped in the Studio.  He supposed Ben was going through the same thing.

Henry didn’t want to wake them so he grabbed a thick blanket out of the linen closet and covered both demons with it.

“G'night bud.” Henry whispered.  “See ya in the mornin'.”  He reached out and ruffled his fingers between the little toon’s horns.  Bendy sighed and curled up under the blanket.

He stared at Ben.  This was the most relaxed he’d ever seen him.  It seemed so surreal.  After a moment of hesitation, Henry reached out and lightly laid his hand on Ben’s head.  The tall demon grumbled but tilted his head into the old animator’s hand.

A ghost of a smile tugged at Henry’s lips.  “G'night Ben.”

 

***Christmas Day***

 

Ben was pulled from the blissful darkness by something shaking his shoulder.  Why did someone have to disturb him when he finally found some peace in the Studio.  Whoever it was, he was going to drown them in ink!

As he made his slow march back to the waking world, he realized something was off.  For some reason, he was warm, very warm.  Something soft covered his body.  Another presence was pressed against his side. There was also someone calling his name.

After a few unsuccessful tries, he managed to crack open one eye.  Staring back at him with huge grins on their faces was Beth, Sarah and Shadow.  Sarah was even holding Cloudy in her arms.  

“Good morning!” Both girls shouted.

“ **Morning?** ”  Ben rubbed his eyes and blinked to clear his vision.  It took one good look at his surrounds for him to realize what was wrong.  He didn’t make it back to the Studio!  He must have fallen asleep on the couch. Someone covered him with a blanket too.  He must have been really tired not to notice that.

The presence pressed against his side began to stir and Ben stared in horror as Bendy’s head popped up from beneath the blanket.  The little toon yawned and stretched his spindly limbs.  

“Whas goin' on?”  Bendy rubbed at his bleary eyes.  Ben had a sense of satisfaction knowing the little toon seemed just as groggy in the morning as himself.  

“C'mon, get up!” Beth's smile was so bright, it was almost blinding.  “It’s Christmas!”

Those two little words worked like magic on the toon.  He went from half asleep to fully awake within three seconds.  Bendy’s eyes grew wide and actually sparkled.  Ben hadn’t been around his counterpart long enough to see him like this.  It was kind of disturbing. 

Bendy looked around.  He just noticed the adults were missing.  He asked where everyone was and the children told him they were still asleep.

“Well that won’t do at all!”  Bendy threw the blanket off himself and hopped off the couch.  “Let’s go wake them up!”

All three took off like a shot, leaving Ben and Shadow behind.  The ink cat watched them disappear up the stairs, then turned towards its creator and gurgled in confusion.  Ben just shrugged.  He didn’t know what was going on either.

Five minutes later, Bendy rushed down the steps with the girls hot on his heels, and Jason yelling for them to “WALK DOWN THE STEPS!”   The adults shuffled down shortly afterwards.  The all displayed varying degrees of wakefulness, with June looking really exhausted.  The demon wondered if she got any sleep at all.

“Good morning Ben.” She yawned and headed straight for the kitchen.  Henry and Jason weren’t far behind. “We need some coffee.” June mumbled.  She barely had her eyes open and managed not to bump into anything.  That was pretty impressive.

The kids sat around the tree, grabbing gifts with their names on them.  The sound of torn paper and cheers filled the air as Bendy and the girls held up each of their presents.  

The adults returned from the kitchen with mugs of piping hot coffee in hand.  June sat on the couch with Ben, sipping her own dark brew.  He noticed the bandage wrapped around her hand as well.  He had a vague recollection of what happened and he looked at her with concern.  June just smiled and pulled a small camera from her pocket, ready to take pictures.

Board games, puzzles, and building blocks covered the floor amongst the colorful wrapping paper.  Dolls and stuffed animals were hugged then set up in an orderly fashion around a new tea set.  They weren’t as enthusiastic about the new clothes, but they were grateful for every present they received.   There were even new art supplies scattered about the floor.

Ever box and bag that was discarded by the children were thoroughly explored by Cloudy and Shadow.  The little kitten would hop in a box and wait for his ‘prey' to pass by.  The ink cat’s thin tail or paws were often the perfect targets.  June made sure to take pictures of that.

Shadow found one particular empty box interesting.   Jason had given June a bottle of perfume.  It was attracted to the sweet smell that lingered within the box.  It stuck its head in while taking in the lovely scent. Unfortunately, when Shadow stepped back, said box was stuck to its face.

The poor ink cat stumbled around the room, shaking its head as it tried to get the box off.  When it wasn’t knocking things off the nearby shelves, it was running into walls.  They couldn’t help but chuckle at the cat’s misfortune until Jason decided to put it out of its misery.  He told Shadow to hold still as he pulled the box off its head.  The ink cat grumbled, finally free of the accursed, sweet smelling trap.

“Aw, sorry big guy, looks like these things are too small for ya.”  Shadow whined and lowered its head.  Jason felt bad for it, but then he had an idea.

He threw on his coat and went out to his rig.  Jason rummaged around in the back of the cab until he found what he was looking for.  It looked like a huge piece of cardboard.  He carried it back to the house and begun unfolding it.  It turned into a box large enough to fit a person inside.

“Here ya go!  Your very own box to play with.”  Shadow circled the cardboard box.  There were a few labels here and there, and a picture of a bed on it.  It pawed at the opening, then took a step back before it leapt gracefully into the box.  A moment later, it poked its head out and gurgled happily.

Henry didn’t understand cats and their fascination with boxes, but Shadow looked happy.  “Where did you find that Jay?”

“A friend of mines ordered a bed and I delivered it.  I helped them set it up too.” Jason shrugged.  “I put the box in my rig and forgot about it.”

The girls asked Ben for the blanket.  When he handed it to them, they covered the top of the box with it.  This started an interesting game of Peek-a-Boo.   The children would tap the top of the blanket, then suddenly, Shadow would pop its head out, and scare them.  They’d giggle, the ink cat would slink back into the box to hide, and the game would start all over again.

“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t toss it out.”  June stood next to her husband and took a few more pictures.  Even little Cloudy tried to get in on the fun as it toddled behind the girls. 

“Oh, before I forget-" June moved towards the tree and pulled out a small, white box from under the tree.  She picked up the little kitten and headed for the couch.  She placed the bundle of fluff in Ben’s hand and sat next to him.   June opened the box and pulled out a little, white collar.    A cute bowtie was attached to it.

“Here, just slip Cloudy’s head through this.”  Ben took the collar and was surprised to see the word, “CLOUDY", embroidered in beautiful cursive on the back of it.   A warm feeling bloomed in Ben's chest as he ran his fingers across the soft material.  The little kitten always had a name, but this just made it feel official.  He held the kitten still as he slipped the collar over his head.  Cloudy mewled, pawed at the bowtie, and nearly tumbled off of Ben’s lap.

“Aw, he looks so cute with his own bowtie.”   She poked the kitten’s nose and he pawed at her fingers.

“Shadow!”  June called out to the ink cat.  It popped its head out from under the blanket.  “Can you come here for a minute?”  It hopped out of the box and trotted over to her.

June pulled out a long piece of gold satin cloth.  She held it up for Ben and Shadow to see.  Its name was embroidered in lovely, red cursive along the length of the cloth.  Shadow pawed at the material lightly and gurgled.  It almost sounded like it was asking a question.

June smiled.  “Yeah, this is for you.”  Shadow bounced from paw to paw excitedly, then leaned into her so she could tie the cloth around its neck.  June lifted its head a little so she could tie the ends into a neat bowtie.  Once she made sure the collar wasn’t too tight, she leaned back and admired her handiwork. 

“You both look very handsome.”  She took a picture of Cloudy and Shadow together.  Ben agreed.  Everything looked good with a bowtie.

Shadow rested its head against June’s chest.  Its horns twitched. It sat there quietly for a moment before it began to purr.  The sound was soft, but it vibrated through her chest.  It didn’t hurt.  It just felt really weird.  

“Why do you do that?”  She giggled and scratched the ink cat behind its horns.

Ben hummed softly.  “ **Ssshadow doesssn't have a heart of itsss own.** ”  June looked at Ben in shock.  She thought Shadow was like Ben and Bendy.  Both demons had hearts.  Why didn’t Shadow?

“ **I didn’t know how to create a heart for it.** ”  Ben stared at his creation.  A hint of guilt tinged his voice.

“ **It isss quiet on the inssside.** ”  He placed his hand on the cat’s head and it leaned into his touch.

“ **It lovesss to listen to the heartbeat of othersss.** ”  Ben sighed and actually looked upset.  Even Shadow noticed.  It whined softly and nudged his hand.

“Hey Ben?  Is Shadow happy?”  June’s question caught him off guard.  He blinked and looked a little confused.

“ **Yesss?** ”  June nodded, then addressed Shadow.

“Are you happy with who you are, even if you don’t have a heart?”  The ink cat tilted its head slightly and seemed to give her question serious thought.  Finally, it huffed and nodded.

June reached out and placed her hand against Shadow’s cheek.  “Well then, that’s all that matters.”  The ink cat murmurs softly and nuzzles her hand. 

Ben chuckled.  It took him quite awhile to learn something his own creation knew all along.  Of course June was there to remind him in the most round about way possible.  She could be deceptively clever sometimes.

A light tap on his arm got his attention.  Beth and Sarah stood there, holding up a fairly large card to him.  He took it, opened it, and was pleasantly surprised.

Written in large lettering and glitter across the page was the words, “MERRY CHRISTMAS".  There was a drawing of Shadow and himself standing next to the Christmas Tree.  The tree itself was made of colorful construction paper, ribbon, and various shiny things.  There was also paper snowflakes glued to it.  They came in different sizes, shapes, and colors.  Cloudy pawed at the bits of ribbon and string that hung from the paper.

“Do you like it?” Sarah asked.  She wrung the hem of her shirt in her hands.  She always does that when she gets anxious.

“ **Thank you.** ”  Ben reached out and gently ruffled their hair.  Beth and Sarah looked relieved and he was rewarded with bright smiles.

“I know Mr. Sammy will like his!”  Beth pointed to three similar cards that sat under the tree.

“We made one for Mr. Norman and Ms. Alice too.”  Sarah frowned slightly.   “I hope she comes this time.”

The entire room grew silent.  The adults were glancing at one another.  Even Bendy stopped what he was doing and started to panic.  Ben’s heart sank when he realized that no one told them what happened to the trio.

“Ben, could you…” June sighed.  She looked like she wanted to do anything but this.

Ben glanced a June before picking up Cloudy and giving her room on the couch.  He stood near the kitchen and watched the entire scene unfold.

“Girls, come here.  I need to tell you something.”  Beth and Sarah sat on either side of their mother and she wrapped her arms around them.  June took a deep breath and steeled herself.  She couldn’t put this off any longer.

Ben didn’t envy June at all.  It looked like it hurt her to deliver such sad news to the little ones.  June didn’t go into the gory details, but she let the children know that the trio was gone.  Even though she reassured them that Norman, Sammy, and Alice was free and happy to finally move on, it didn’t change the fact that they will never see them again.

“T-They're really gone?  But-But we were going to spend Christmas together!”  Beth sniffled and rubbed at her eyes.

“I know.  They wanted to be here, but they had to leave.”

“We didn’t get to say Goodbye…” Sarah buried her face into her mother’s side.  

“I know baby, I know.”  June hated seeing her girls so upset.  “But you made them so happy.” June hugged them both.  “Your letters brought them so much joy.  They will never forget you.”

Ben hissed softly.  He didn’t like this.  Sadness filled the room.  It was like being back in the Studio.  June’s home is a place of love and warmth, not-not this!   

He wanted to see the children happy and hear their laughter again, not tears.  He had the urge to do something, anything!  But what could he do?  He was a demon.  He didn’t know how to comfort others.  He only hurt people.  He wasn’t as kind as Norman and Sammy…

Something had just occurred to him.  Something important!  Maybe he could help.  It might not work, but he had to try.

“ **Ssshadow**.”  The ink cat looked up at him.  “ **Ssstay with them.** ”  The cat nodded and moved close to June and the girls.  It nudged Sarah’s arm gently and gurgled softly.  She didn’t smile, but she did run her fingers across its stubby horns.  

Ben waved his hand and an inky portal formed on the living room wall.  He started to move toward it when Henry cut him off.

“Where are you going?” Henry whispered.  His eyes darted over to June.   She stared at them with concern but didn’t say anything.  She was a little busy trying to calm the children down.  

“ **I'll be back**.” Ben handed the little kitten to Henry.  “ **I promissse.** ”  The demon stepped around him and disappeared into the portal without another word.

* * *

It took ten minutes for the adults to get the children to calm down.  They were still upset but at least they weren’t crying.  June was beginning to wonder when Ben would return when ink bled through the living room wall.  Ben stepped out of the portal carrying three familiar objects.  An old, but well maintained projector, reel of film, and a record.

He shuffled over to the coffee table and laid his burden down carefully upon it.  Beth and Sarah stared at the objects then up at Ben expectantly.  He wasn’t used to such scrutiny.  He glanced down at the table and began to fidget.

“ **They wanted to give you thessse.** ”  June noticed the way he rubbed his mismatch  hands together, the same way Bendy does when he gets nervous.  Funny how the demons possessed similar mannerisms.  “ **They are giftsss.** ”

Beth slid off the couch and picked up the record.  She turned it over.  There was a label in the middle of the vinyl.    The yellowing paper was a little faded but the words, “Body and Soul”* was neatly printed on it.

Sarah brushed her tiny fingers against the intricate mechanisms of the projector.  It reminded her of Norman’s, only smaller.  She picked up the reel of film.  There was something written on the case, but she had a hard time pronouncing it.

“Hey, that’s, “Amusement Park Mayhem”!”  Bendy tapped the yellowing piece of paper.  “I remember this!”

“ **Norman and Sssammy found them in the vault.** ”

While the children examined their new treasures, Ben watched their expressions closely.  They still seemed a little sad, but not as upset as they were early.  Bringing these gifts from the trio seemed like the right thing to do.  He was glad the girls seemed to like them.

“Thank you, Ben.” The demon flinched when he felt a warm hand land on his shoulder.  Henry stood next to him and smiled as his nieces tried to guess what might be on the film and record.

“ **I don’t like them being ssso sssad.** ” 

“Um, uncle Henry?”  Sarah held out the reel of film.  “Can we watch this now?”

He took the film from her and looked it over.  The case it was in kept the old film in good condition.  The projector Ben brought looked to be in excellent shape too.  Norman must have fixed it up to make sure it was in good working order.

“It’s a little bright in here, but I think we can set it up.”  Henry chuckled when he was hugged by Beth, Sarah, and Bendy.  The little group cheered as the adults got to work turning the living room into a makeshift theatre.

Ben helped Jason push the couch back to give them more space on the middle of the room.  June moved the television to the side.  She grabbed a white sheet out of the linen closet and some thumb tacks to pin it to the wall.  Henry set the projector on the end table and loaded the reel of film into it.

The children sat on the floor with Bendy and Shadow as the adults went around the room, closing the curtains to get it as dark as possible.  June realized that the curtains weren’t heavy enough to block out the sun.  The living room was still too bright.

“I don’t think this is going to work.”  Ben tilted his head slightly and waited for her to explain.  She pointed to the window.  Even with the curtains closed, sunlight still streaming through. “It’s just too bright in here.”

Ben chuckled and waved his gloved hand.  Inky veins crawled out from under his feet.  The shadows crept across the floor and up the walls.  When the dark tendrils reached the windows, they slithered under the curtains, and collected onto the glass.  Slowly, the room grew darker until all of the sunlight was blocked out. He even covered the kitchen windows.  It was like the ink was swallowing up the light in the room.

“Wow…” June couldn’t help it.  She was impressed.  How many times did he use the ink to intimidate and now, he was using it to help her daughters.  “Thanks Ben.”

“ **Heh, you’rrre welllcome.** ”  The glow in his eyes grew a little brighter.

Jason clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.  “Okay guys, let’s get this show on the road!” 

June and Jason sat on the couch while Ben sat cross legged on the floor.  Cloudy ran up and practically jumped into his lap.  Henry manned the projector.  With a flip of a switch, the show was about to begin.  Tinny music drifted through the air as the Joey Drew Studio logo and jingle played.

* * *

_Bendy, Boris, and Alice were walking down the street when they came upon an amusement park.   The cheerful music attracted the little devil.  He grabbed his friends by the hand and pulled through the park entrance._

_The Butcher Gang was there.  They seemed to be running the games.  Bendy’s eyes were as big as saucers as he darted this way and that.  Alice and Boris stood by, waiting patiently for their demonic companion to make up his mind._

_Bendy grabbed Alice by the hand and dragged her over to the various games set up between the rides.  Boris shrugged and followed close behind.  There were all sorts of wonderful prizes that sat on the shelves.  The game booths  were run by Charlie, Barley, and Edgar._

_The first one the little devil tried was a shooting gallery game run by Barley.  He handed Bendy a gun and pointed towards the targets.  It seemed simple enough so he gave it a try.  Every time he shot at a target, he either missed the wooden ducks or they didn’t fall over. Bendy thought something must have been wrong with the gun so he handed it to Boris._

_The wolf shrugged.  He gave it a try and managed to hit three ducks, winning himself a small stuffed dog without even trying.  Bendy couldn’t believe his eyes.  Barley just smirked and waved for him to move on._

_The next one was a Balls and Bottles game run by Charlie.    All Bendy had to do was knock over the bottles and win a prize.  He even pointed to a big teddy bear that he wanted to win for Alice. Charlie handed him three balls and pointed to the bottles._

_The little toon scrunched up his face in concentration,  cocked his arm back, and tossed the ball as hard as he could.  The ball hit the stack of bottles, then bounced right off.  Both Alice and Bendy stared in complete shock. He tossed another ball, then another, and got the same result.  The little demon stomped his foot and complained, but Charlie just laughed and motioned for Boris to give it a try._

_The wolf took a ball and tossed it.  He missed, sending the ball sailing past the stack of bottles.  It ricocheted off the back wall and hit the bottles, knocking them over.  Charlie congratulated Boris and handed the large teddy bear to the wolf who gave it to the angel.  Alice hugged the bear and kissed the wolf on the nose._

_By this time, Bendy was growing quite frustrated.  He stood there with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He already lost twice and didn’t want to play anymore.  Alice pat him on the back and gave him an encouraging smile.  She wanted him to try one more game._

_It was a ring toss game run by Edgar.  All he had to do was toss a ring onto the neck of the center bottle to win the prize.  Bendy was skeptical but the spider just smiled and handed him three small rings._

_Bendy squinted at the rows of glass bottles.  He tossed the first ring.  It bounced off the center bottle and fell off to the side.  The little demon grumbled and tried to line up another shot.  It spun on the top of a bottle neck before tipping over and falling to the floor._

_Bendy had a fit.  He jumped up and down, pointed at Edgar and accused him of cheating somehow.  The other toon just laughed and stuck his tongue out at him._

_The angel was worried about her friend.  She didn’t like seeing him so upset.  All of a sudden, her halo flashed brightly.  She got an idea.  While the spider was distracted, Alice plucked the halo from above her head.  She shrunk it down until it was about the size of the ring.  She took Bendy by the hand to calm him down and switched the ring for her halo.  She told him to try one more time.  She believed in him!_

_Bendy sighed.  He supposed it couldn’t hurt to try one more time.  He tossed the ring without really trying and watched as it bounced from one bottle neck to the another.  The ring reached the middle bottle and landed perfectly around its neck._

_Edgar and Bendy’s mouths hung open as neither one could believe he made that shot.  The little demon recovered first.  He jumped up and down,  pointing to the prize he wanted.  The spider grumbled, but climbed up the shelf to retrieve the prize._

_Edgar handed Bendy a stuffed cat that was bigger than him.  The little demon was over the moon and proudly showed off his prize to his friends.  Alice clapped.  She was very proud of him.  Boris gave him a ‘thumbs up'._

_The group walked away, leaving a very confused Edgar behind.  Before they got too far, Alice snapped her fingers, and her halo appeared over her head.  She pressed a finger to her lips in a hushing motion and winked at the audience._

* * *

Ben glanced around the room.  The girls were smiling.  Even the adults were smiling.  They would laugh at the toons on the makeshift screen.  From Boris sneaking a bite out of Bendy’s hotdog to Alice getting pulled out of a haunted house by a scared little devil, everyone was enjoying themselves.  

Henry would whisper to June and Jason about how the animators managed to pull off certain scenes.  There was a twinkle in his eyes and a certain excitement in his voice as he spoke passionately about the techniques and tricks he used to use back in the day.  Watching the old animator reminisce was quite the sight.  He really loved what he did all those years ago.

Ben suddenly realized, he had never seen an audience reaction to a Bendy cartoon before.  He remember watching them on loop and feeling nothing but anger.  They were nothing but constant reminders of who he was suppose to be, but wasn’t.  

No one else is the Studio watched the old cartoon except for Norman.  Not even Sammy, with all his crazy devotion, watched them.  Most of the searchers or Butcher Gang clones mindlessly wandered the inky halls. Lost ones just hid away in their little town, trying to stay as far from him as possible.  No one actually liked the cartoons created there, thanks to Joey.

Now he got to see first hand how those cartoons affected others.  It may not be a theatre full of people, but this was good enough for him.   Seeing the smiles on his friends faces filled his heart with so much joy, he thought it might burst.  This was the true purpose of the Bendy cartoons.  It wasn’t there for one man to slap his name on it and claim all the fame.  It was there to entertain people.

Ben listened as the girls talked about their favorite parts in the film.  Bendy put in his two cents.  The little toon looked as happy as he felt that Beth and Sarah loved the cartoon.

Henry turned off the projector while Jason took the sheet down.  June went around the room, opening the curtains.  The ink still clung to the glass so Ben waved his hand and pulled it back towards himself.  Light gradually flooded the room as Ben reabsorbed the ink. 

Beth ran up to her mother with the record in hand.  She asked if they could listen to it.  June pulled the record out of its jacket and looked it over.  It was in very good condition.  No nicks or scratches.  It should play just fine. 

June opened a large box on the mantle.  She jumped when Ben leaned over her shoulder.  She didn’t hear him get up.  He can move a little too quietly for her tastes.

“ **What isss thisss?** ”  The demon pointed to the contents of the box.

“It’s a record player.  See, you put the record on the turntable,” She placed the record in the box and turned it on. The turntable began to spin.  “then you place the needle here.”  June pulled the arm until it hovered above the record.  She lowered it and gently laid the needle on the vinyl. 

Ben ran his fingers across the wooden box.  It almost looked like the phonograph Sammy kept in his office.  He wondered where the sound would come from.  He got his answer when a speaker crackled to life.  There was a moment of soft static before a piano began to play.  

A saxophone, flute and clarinet soon joined in to created a jazzy tune.  The demon smiled and returned to his spot on the floor.  Cloudy scurried back onto his lap.  He closed his eyes and hummed contently as he stroked the little kitten’s soft fur.  He recognized Sammy piano playing anywhere.  He always enjoyed his music even if he never showed it.

Everyone was enjoying the music but grew silent as a familiar voice chimed in:

* * *

  
_I'm lost in the dark,_   
_Where is my spark, for my love?_   
_I’m lost in the night,_   
_Holding the light, of my love._

_The heavens opened and closed,_   
_As well I might have supposed,_   
_And I am left in this abandon,_   
_So far removed from all that I had planned on._

_My days have grown so lonely,_   
_For I have lost my one and only._   
_My pride has been humbled,_   
_But I am hers, body and soul._

* * *

 

“Is that Ms. Alice's voice?” Beth asked.  She didn’t know the angel could sing.

Henry smiled sadly.  “Her name was Susie Campbell and she was the voice actress for Alice Angel.”  The children were amazed that her voice was used in the cartoons.   The beautiful song continued.

* * *

 

_I was a mere sensation,_   
_My house of cards had no foundation._   
_Although it has tumbled,_   
_I still am hers, body and soul._

_What lies before me?_   
_The future is stormy,_   
_A winter that’s gray and old._   
_Unless there's magic,_   
_The end will be tragic,_   
_And echo the tale that's been told so often._

_My life revolves about her,_   
_What earthly good am I without her?_   
_My castles have crumbled,_   
_But I am hers, body and soul._

* * *

 

Henry knew this song but Susie changed a few words, essentially altering the meaning of the entire song.  He flinched at the hint of desperation in her voice.  Did she really wrap her entire life around the character of Alice Angel?  No wonder she was such an attractive target for Joey.  

Henry glanced at Ben, only to find the demon staring at the record player.  He looked deeply disturbed.  Looks like the demon just realized how deep her devotion to the character really was.   The same devotion that made her the perfect pawn for Joey’s experiments.

* * *

 

_What lies before me?_   
_The future is stormy,_   
_A winter that’s gray and old._   
_Unless there’s magic,_   
_The end will be tragic,_   
_And echo the tale that’s been told so often._

_My life revolves about her,_   
_What earthly good am I without her?_   
_My castles have crumbled,_   
_But I am hers, body and soul._

* * *

 

As the music wound down, the room filled with a long stretch of static.  The song had ended.

“I guess this is it.”  June reached for the needle, but startled when two voices broke through the static.

“ _Good job Susie._ ”

“ _Thanks Sammy!_ ” Susie cooed.  “ _I’m sure Joey will let me voice Alice again once he hears this._ ”

“ _I’m sure he will._ ”  Sammy sighed.  He didn’t sound convinced but he was trying to humor her.  “ _Alright everyone, that’s a wrap._ ”

There was a little static before the record finally went silent.  June turned off the record player, returned the vinyl to its jacket, and gave it back to Beth.

“Wow, we got to hear Mr. Sammy’s voice!”  Beth giggled.

“He was playing the piano too.”  Sarah nodded and pointed to the record.

As the children chatted amongst themselves, they failed to notice how quiet the adults were.  Ben watched as each one seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.  No doubt wondering how Joey could use someone so vulnerable as Susie.  He knew exactly what Joey was capable of so this didn’t surprise him one bit.

The demon was startled from his thoughts by soft taps on his shoulder.  It was Beth and Sarah.  They were smiling but he could still see a hint of sadness in their gazes.  At least they weren’t crying anymore.

“ **Yesss?** ” 

“Thank you.” Sarah wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks.  Beth thanked him as well.  She sniffled and he could see the glistening of tears in her eyes.  She was trying her hardest to not cry.  It was an admirable effort, but she didn’t need to put on an act for him.

“ **You’re welcome.** ”  They didn’t need to thank him.  He was happy to do this.  Norman, Sammy, and even Susie would have wanted them to have these gifts. 

The girls glanced at one another like they wanted to say something else.  Instead, they did something he wasn’t expecting.  They wrapped their arms around his neck and hugged him.  Ben stiffened in shock.  He was afraid to move so he looked to June for help.  He wasn’t sure what to do.  She smiled and whispered, “It’s okay.”

Ben hesitated for a moment,  then slowly wrapped his long arms around each girl.  He was careful not to squeeze too tight.  He didn’t want to hurt them.  That didn’t stop the children from tightening their grip around his neck.  

They didn’t say anything else, but he could feel their tears as it dripped onto his shoulder.  Ben hoped these were happy tears and not the sad kind.  He didn’t want them to be unhappy anymore. 

The demon wasn’t sure why he did it, but he began to rub their backs.  He hoped this gesture would help somehow and it did.  The children loosened their grip and stepped back enough for him to see their faces. Their eyes were a little red and glassy.  He reached up and gently wiped the tears from their cheeks.

“ **Feel better?** ” Both girls nodded and giggled when Shadow rubbed its head against their backs.

“ **Good.** ” Ben smiled.  He really meant it too.  He had grown to truly care for the children.

“Alright guys.” June placed her hands on each girl’s head.  “How ‘bout we have some breakfast!”

The morning concluded with June and Jason cooking bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast.  Ben had to admit, he liked his bacon crispy as opposed to that soggy mess from the soup.  Looks like Bendy liked Bacon as much as he did.  Henry had to keep the toon from eating it all. 

All in all, the morning was quite pleasant.   Presents were given, tears were shed, and in the end, laughter and warmth filled the home.  Ben preferred it this way.

* * *

After breakfast, the house was a whirlwind of activity.  June rushed the girls upstairs so they could get dressed.  Later, she came back down in a powder blue and white dress.  She was also pinning her hair up into a messy bun.

“Alright, I gotta start getting dinner ready.  Jason’s parents will be here in a few hours.” June mumbled to herself.  She asked Henry and Jason to bring up extra chairs and the extension for the table from the basement.  She told Bendy, Beth, and Sarah to clean up the wrapping paper and boxes in the living room.  

Ben wasn’t sure what he should do so he tried to stand out of the way.  That wasn’t going to work for June.

“You’re gonna help me.”  She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the kitchen.  Shadow decided to help the kids since it was sure it couldn’t help with the cooking.  June made Ben wash his hands and she tied an apron around his waist.

She had Ben pull the ham out of the fridge because her hand still hurt and she couldn’t lift it.  She washed it, then had him set it down in a roasting pan.  The demon watched as she put some kind of fruit around the ham.

“These are pineapple rings.  It’ll give the ham a nice, sweet flavor.”  She poured the pineapple juice over the meat, then covered it with a lid.  June opened the oven and asked Ben to place it on the rack.  She set the temperature and timer, then moved on to the next thing.  A stick of butter was set on the counter to soften while June asked Ben to grab the corn meal off the top shelf.

Jason brought up the extension as Henry cleared off the table.  The men stood on either side and pulled the table apart.  Once the extra piece of wood was added, the kitchen table became a proper dining table.  As they went into the basement to get the chairs, June asked Bendy to cover the table in a red and white lace cloth.

June had a few pots on the stove just starting to boil.  One for the yams, one for the  macaroni, one for the green beans, and the last was for rice.  Ben was stirring a bowl filled with corn meal, milk, and an egg while June fished the good dishes out of the cabinets.  

The children took the plates to help set the table.  Jason and Henry supervised to make sure there were no accidents.  Bendy grabbed the napkins and folded them, placing them near each plate.  Beth made sure each setting had a butter knife, fork, and spoon on them.  Sarah set a glass near each plate.  They tried to make the settings look as neat as possible.

A little over an hour past and June poked the yams to make  sure it was done.  She took it off the stove so it could cool.  She made sure Ben had the ingredients in the bowl mixed well before adding one more thing:

“My secret ingredient.” June whispered.  She pulled out a small can from the cabinet and opened it.  The label read, “Cream Corn.”  Ben scowled.  The stuff didn’t look very appetizing to him, but she swore it would give the bread an extra sweet taste.  He was skeptical but he figured she knew what she was doing.

With his large hands and strength, it was easy for Ben to stir the stiffening dough.  June knew she couldn’t do it with her injured hand.  She was lucky the demon was willing to help out.  Although, she didn’t miss the way he kept glancing at the bandage on her hand.  She had a feeling he was piecing together what happened.  It was an accident and she didn’t hold it against him.

This wasn’t the first time Ben watched her cook, but it was the first time he got to help her like this.  He was a little nervous. He didn’t want to make a mistake and ruin the meal, but June was a good teacher.  She explained things calmly and showed him what to do.  Even when he didn’t do something right, she didn’t yell at him.  She just showed him how to do it right.  Ben felt proud that he was doing a good job.

After Ben finished mixing everything together, June got a muffin pan, and had him pour the dough into the molds.  She let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before placing it in the oven to bake.   

Now it was time to start on the yams.  At this point, they were cool and easy to peel.  All she had to do was cut them up, place them in a baking dish, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top.  She needed one more thing and then in the oven it goes.  June pulled a bag of jumbo marshmallows from the cabinet.  

No sooner had she opened the bag, it sounded like a herd of elephants running into her kitchen!  Bendy, Shadow, Beth, and Sarah were staring at her from the other side of the counter.  Their eyes, except for Shadow, were wide and pleading.

“Could I have a marshmallow aunt June?  Pleeaase?”  Bendy's eyes were practically sparkling.

“Can I have one too mommy?” Beth was bouncing on her heels.

“Me too?”  Out of the three of them, Sarah had the best puppy dog eyes.

Shadow just laid its head on the counter and whined softly.  They were making it hard for her to say ‘No'.

“C'mon guys!  I need these for the yams.”  June looked to Ben for help, but the demon just shrugged and chuckled.  

June sighed and was glad she brought a large bag.  She gave each one a marshmallow, then shoed them all out of the kitchen.   She also gave one to Ben for helping her with dinner.  The demon turned the soft treat this way and that before popping it into his mouth.  He hummed and tried to steal another, but June took his apron and kicked him out of the kitchen too.

With Ben's help, she was almost done.  The rice was done.  She just needed to fix the macaroni and cheese.  Before she could get started, the doorbell rang.

“They’re here!” Beth screamed.  The children ran to the door while Bendy, Ben, and Shadow stood close to Henry.  He put his hand on top of the toon’s head and told them that everything would be fine.

Ben remembered the grandmother.  The woman kept trying to feed him vegetables.  She started to annoy him and he wasn’t looking forward to that again.

“Ma!” Jason opened the door and immediately swept his mother up in a hug.

“Grandma! Grandpa!”  The girl rushed towards the portly woman.  Pearl laughed and wrapped her arms around all three.  She was followed by a very tall man.  His arms were loaded down with packages. 

“Hey!  A little help over here!”  Henry took the packages from him and sat them on the couch.   The man shook his hand and thanked him.  He turned to the little group hug and huffed.

“What do I look like?  Chopped liver?”  The man smirked.  “Where's my hug?”  The girls ran up to their grandfather and he picked them both up and hugged them.  “Hah!  That’s more like it!”

The man was a little taller than Jason with long, greying hair tied in a loose ponytail.  He has a light red mustache and long beard that had grey streaks running through it.  He laughed heartily and even with his coat on, he appeared quite burly.

After the grandparents took off their coats, June got pulled into a hug by Pearl before getting swept off her feet by the grandfather.  She laughed and hugged him back.  The adults chatter for a bit before Pearl noticed the demons standing off to the side.  Her eyes lit with recognition.

“Ben! Bendy!  It’s so good to see you two again!”  The little toon happily accepted the bone crushing hug from the older woman.  Ben was a little reluctant at first and tried to back away, but Pearl was faster than she looked.  The woman managed to wrap one arm around his waist while keeping the other arm around Bendy.

“Hey Will!  Come meet these boys!”  

“Hey, I'm William, but everyone calls me grandpa!”  After the elder Anderson introduced himself, he shook Bendy’s hand.

“Well I’ll be!” William chuckled.   “He really looks like a cartoon character.”  He slowly knelt down and examined the toon.  He touched Bendy’s cheek and horns.  He even noticed the way his head floated above his shoulders.  

“In all my years on the road, I’ve never met anyone like you.”  A light grey blush dusted Bendy’s cheeks.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir!” William narrowed his eyes slightly.  “Er, I mean, Grandpa!” the little toon chuckled nervously.

William chuckled, “It’s alright son.”, and placed his hand on Bendy's head.  He straightened up and turned his attention to Ben.

“Well, look at you…” He stood there quietly and stroked his long beard.  He looked Ben up and down with a critical eye.  This went on for so long, the lanky demon began to fidget.  Pearl patted him on the back and told him to relax.  

Finally, the elder Anderson’s gaze softened and he chuckled.  “You were right.  He sure is tall and just as skinny as Jay was when he was thirteen!”

“C'mon dad, I wasn’t that bad!”  Jason pouted and caused June and Pearl to laugh.  Ben wasn’t sure if he should take offense to William’s remark.

“Boy, you were all limbs like this fella over here!”  William held out his hand.  Ben stared at it for a moment, then took the elder Anderson’s hand.   The man had a hearty handshake to match his boisterous personality.  

Both grandparents were startled when Shadow approached them.  It stopped when William stiffened and raised his fists.  Ben growled softly and was ready to protect his creation.  Luckily, Jason stepped in just in time.

“Dad, it’s okay.  This is Shadow.”  Jason placed his hand on the cat’s head.  “It’s just a big house cat.  It’s harmless.”  Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but his folks didn’t need to know that.

William and Pearl glanced warily at the cat.  They weren’t sure about all of this.  Bendy looked harmless enough, but Ben and Shadow were honestly frightening.  So imagine their shock when Sarah hugged the large cat around its neck and a little grey kitten curled around its feet.  It leaned against the child and started to purr.

William shook his head.  They'd have to have a little talk with their son later.  He really didn’t want to ruin the festive mood.  “W-Well, now that introductions are out of the way, who wants some presents?”

The children cheered and rushed towards their grandparents.  Boxes were handed out to them as well as the adults.  Pearl even handed a large box to Ben and Bendy.

Amongst the puzzles and games, the girls also received sweaters.  They were the traditional Christmas colors of red, white, and green.  One had a jolly snowman on the front and the other had reindeer with a red nose on it. What really caught the eye were all the shiny baubles and strings hanging from them.  It was like someone stuck a bunch of ornaments to the sweaters.

“Do you like them?  I knitted them myself!”  Pearl was practically beaming at her handiwork.   The children quickly put on their sweaters to show them off to the rest of the family.

“Aw, they look so cute!” Pearl squealed.   She turned to the adults and told them to open their presents too.   It looked like she knitted sweaters for everyone. The others weren’t as enthusiastic as the children and they fought hard to keep smiles on their faces.

The sweaters were all oversized and very fluffy.  Some had stripes running across them while others had a strange zigzag pattern.   There were even more colors and shiny things stuck to them as well as white ruffles around the necks and wrists.

“Thanks Mama Anderson.”  June held up her sweater.  She winced at the random, colorful pompoms sewn onto it.  “You really shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, it was no problem!  I had to put all those knitting classes to good use.”  The portly woman chuckled.

Ben didn’t want to say it out loud, but he thought the sweaters looked kind of ugly.  So many colors and doodads clashed with one another, he wished the ink was covering his eyes so he could tone down the gaudiness.  

Bendy laughed and pointed at the sweater Henry held in his hands.  It looked like it had Santa’s face on it with a load of cotton glued on to make up his beard.  St. Nick’s hat was made up of bright, red sequence and a fluffy white pompom on top.

“What are you two waiting for?  Open your gifts!” Pearl had a smile that could rival either demon.

June didn’t think it was possible but both demons suddenly went pale.  She stifled a giggles as she snuck out her camera.  This was going to be good.

Ben and Bendy glanced at one another.  The little toon gulped audibly as he tore through the wrapping paper and opened his box.  His eyes grew wide as he pulled out a very large, navy blue and white striped turtleneck sweater.  There were silver stars dotted throughout the entire sweater.  It was also incredibly fluffy and soft to the touch.  There was also a white knit cap and a long black scarf underneath.  They were made of the same material as the sweater.

“Thank you grandma Pearl!”  Bendy beamed.  He managed to pull it over his head and slipped his arms through the long sleeves.  The sweater was so long, it hung down past his knees.

“Wow, this is so soft and warm…” the little toon sighed as the sweater settled on him.  They could barely see his smile because his head seemed to be swimming in the turtleneck.

Ben sighed and opened his present.  His sweater had a wide turtleneck as well.  It was dark grey on the bottom and white on the top.  There were glittery red stars on white part and shiny gold stars on the grey.  There was thick white wool sewn on the cuffs and hem of the sweater.  He also had a large, green wool cap and long, red scarf in the box.

Ben scowled slightly.  He really hoped he didn’t have to put this thing on.  He was ready to throw it back into the box until he saw the look of utter joy on Pearl's face.

“Go ahead.  Try it on!”  He almost said ‘No' but didn’t,  not when she was staring at him like that.  Not only that, but the girls and Bendy were all pleading with him to try it on too.

In the end, Ben caved.  He grumbled and pulled the sweater over his head.  Pearl actually made the neck and cuffs wide enough for his head and large gloved hand to slip  through with no problem.  The sleeves were just the right length for his long arms too.  The hem of the sweater fell past his hips, looking quite long on his slim frame.  What really surprised him was how soft and warm it really was.  It felt quite nice.

“ **Ttthank you…grandma Pearl.** ”  The woman swept him up in a bear hug and was happy he liked it so much.  He chuckled nervously and pat the woman on the back.  He had never been hugged this much in his entire existence. 

June took a few pictures as everyone gathered around Ben to compare sweaters.  They were all so unique.  She couldn’t wait to see what Pearl came up with next year.

Jason pulled out a few boxes from under the tree and handed them to his parents.  The children also gave them some cards they made themselves.  

William received a new fishing rod, tackle box, and CB radio for his truck.  “You needed a new one for your rig pops.  That other one is nearly as old as me!”  The senior Anderson chuckled and slapped his son on the back. He promised to install the new radio into his rig when they got home.  

Pearl got a beautiful wooden jewelry box.  There was a gold paisley design running across the sides and a red rose carved on the top.  Inside the box was a set of silver bracelets and a long silver chain with a heart shape locket attached to it.  When she opened the locket, there was a picture of June and Jason on one side, and the other side had Beth and Sarah.

“Oh this is so sweet!”  She clutched the locket and held it close to her heart.  “Thank you, thank you so much!” Pearl pulled June and Jason into another bear hug.

“You’re welcome.”  June hugged her back.  “Well, I need to finish cooking.  I want to make sure we have dinner on time.”  June slipped out of the older woman's hold and headed for the kitchen.

“Let me help you dear!”  Pearl picked up a large aluminum pan and followed June.  “I hope you don’t mind, but I baked an apple pie!”

“Oh shoot!” June groaned.  “I forgot about dessert…”  She was so worried dinner wouldn’t be done on time, she forgot to bake a cake. 

“Mama Anderson, you’re a lifesaver!”  Pearl chuckled and told June that she liked to be prepared.  

“So boys,” William rubbed his hands together.  “you two know anything about football?”  Both demons glanced at one another before shaking their heads.  “Well, that won’t do at all!  Son, see if you can find a game on TV.”

“Heh, sure thing pops.”  Jason fiddled with the knobs on the television as he tried to tune into a game.

“While he’s trying to find us somethin' to watch,” William put his hands on each demon's back and pushed them towards the couch.  “let me tell you about my old college football days.”

* * *

Pearl slipped on some oven mitts and pulled the ham out of the oven.  The smells that filled the kitchen was simply heavenly.  June took some of the drippings to mixed it with brown sugar and mustard to make a glaze. She poured it all over the meat and used a brush to make sure every spot was covered.  When she was done, Pearl stuck it back into the oven uncovered.

The corn muffins were done, so they were placed on the counter to cool.  While June worked on the macaroni and cheese,  Pearl watched her husband regale everyone with stories of running the ball down the field.  The way he told it, no one could catch him and no one could bring him down.  She knew he exaggerated just a tad, but he was so happy to tell his story to anyone that would listen, she let him be.  

He had both demons hanging off every word.  Her husband could make any story sound exciting.  While Bendy bombarded him with loads of questions, Ben was content to listen.  

“He seems different…”

“Hmm?”  June stopped mixing the macaroni, milk, and cheese in a glass baking dish.

“Ben.” Pearl check on the candied yams.  “He seems a lot calmer than the last time I saw him.  Less menacing too.  Did something happen?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”  June smiled and placed the dish in the oven.  

“Well?  What happened?” Pearl sounded a bit annoyed that she wasn’t getting a straight answer.

“We…went through some things.”  June placed the warm muffins in a bread basket and put it on the table along with a small dish of butter.  “There were some misunderstandings and a few things that needed to be cleared up.  So  that’s it!”  

“That’s it?”  Pearl figured there had to be more to it than that, but June was being very evasive.

“That's it.” June grinned at the incredulous look Pearl was giving her.  She didn’t like lying to them, but this was for the best.  They didn’t need to know what really happened right now.  They’ll tell them when they got to know Ben and Bendy better.  June placed her hand on Pearl’s shoulder and lead her into the living room. 

They sat down and listened to the rest of William’s story until Jason finally found a game on TV.   As per tradition, Jason and William were rooting for different teams with poor Henry stuck as referee.  It was funny watching these grown men fighting over which player is the best at doing what.  Then, before things got too heated, Henry would step in to calm things down.

When the father and son weren’t arguing, William would point to the screen and tried to explain the rules of the game to Ben and Bendy.  Jason would jump in and simplify things when it looked like the demons didn’t quite get it.  It was nice to see Jason’s parents trying to include their new family members in the conversations even if Ben didn’t have much to say.  She appreciated that they were trying to get to know them better.  June was worried things might not work out, but it seemed those fears were unfounded even if William wasn’t completely on board.  He’ll probably want to talk later.

While the girls showed their new dolls and stuffed animals to their grandmother, Shadow carefully saddled up to the woman's side.  Pearl eyed the ink cat nervously, but June told her that it just wanted a scratch behind the horns.

Shadow leaned in close and wiggled its stubby horns causing the older woman to chuckle.  Pearl reached out and touched one of its horns, then pat it on the head.  Shadow leaned into her hand and purred softly.

“Aw, you remind me of a cat Jason had when he was little.”  Pearl placed both of her hands on Shadow’s cheeks and rubbed lightly.  The effect was immediate.   It let loose a garbled sigh and laid its large head on her lap.  

“She loved having her cheeks rubbed like this too.” Pearl giggled.  Shadow was practically leaning against her now.  If it had visible eyes, they would be closed.   The cat was like putty in Pearl’s hands.

June smiled.  Looks like Shadow manage to win over one grandparent.  The ink cat knew how to be very disarming when it wanted to be.  Now it had Pearl massaging its cheeks and loving every moment of it.  June was glad things were going so well.  From the quick glance and relaxed smile on her brother’s face, Henry must have been relieved as well.

* * *

Around 4:00 pm, June and Pearl did one finally check of the food.  The ham was taken out of the oven and placed near the head of the table.  The rice and green beans were heated up before being placed on the table along with the candied yams and macaroni and cheese.  A carving knife, serving spoons, and a few bottles of sparkling cider were the last things to make to make it to the table.  Dinner was ready.

Jason ushered the girls and Bendy down the hall to the second bathroom so they could wash their hands.  William washed his hands at the kitchen sink then took a seat at the head of the table.  He eyed the beautiful ham before him.

“Mmm, smells good June.”  June thanked him as she lead Ben to the table.  When he sat down, he noticed the utensils were larger than everyone else.  He looked surprised until June took a seat to his left.

“I didn’t forget.”  She smiled and elbowed his side playfully.

“ **Ttthank you…** ” Ben smiled sheepishly.

Henry took the seat to Ben’s right.  Jason returned with the kids and sat across from June with Beth, Bendy, and Sarah taking the remaining seats.  Pearl sat at the other end of the table and waited for everyone to settle down before saying grace.

William stood up over the ham with carving knife and fork in hand.  He sliced into the tender meat with practiced ease.  June spooned some of the rice and green beans on her plate before passing it to her father-in-law.   He put a few slices of ham on it then passed it to Jason where he put some candied yams and macaroni and cheese on the plate.  

One by one, everyone’s plate was passed around the table until they were returned full of food.  June made sure everyone had a corn muffin then excused herself from the table.  She went into the kitchen and grabbed a large bowl.  She filled it with a little bit of everything at the table, including a warm muffin.  She took it back into the kitchen and placed it on the floor near Cloudy’s bowl.  After making sure the kitten had his own food, June called Shadow into the kitchen.  The ink cat padded in quietly.

“This is for you.”  The large cat looked into the bowl, then back up at June.  It tilted its head and gurgled softly.

“It’s okay.” June rubbed its cheek.  “You’ll like this.  I promise.”

There was a soft cracking sound as Shadow opened its mouth.  It bit into a slice of ham and purred softly.  The end of its long, skinny tail curled around June’s hand and squeezed gently.

“Aw, you’re welcome.”  She returned to the table.  June took a moment to look around the table.  Henry was having a lively conversation with William.  Pearl was fussing with Jason, saying he was too skinny and needed to eat more.  Beth and Sarah giggled as Bendy was stuffing his face.  She had to tell him to slow down.  

Ben was eyeing the corn muffin suspiciously.  June told him to try it.  He huffed then took a small bite and his eyes grew to the size of small saucers.  He took another bite and hummed softly.

“Told ya it would be good.” June chuckled.

There were soft conversations and the clinking of silverware against plates that echoed through the room. Everyone was enjoying the good food and great company.  Even the two demons at the table were being civil to one another.  

Ben had to admit, he was really enjoying the ham.  It wasn’t on the same level as crispy bacon, but it was really good.  The candied yams and the macaroni and cheese really surprised him.  All three were such a great combination to him, he wondered why June didn’t cook like this all the time.  He even ate the green beans.  Not because he liked the vegetable, but because Pearl would try to make him eat it.  Frankly, today was a good day and he didn’t feel like being nagged again.

Once Ben finished everything on his plate, June asked if he wanted more.  He smiled and nodded vigorously.   He got more of everything except the green beans.  One helping of that was enough for him.  While Ben was working on his second plate, Bendy was finishing up his third.

“Mmm, everything’s delicious aunt June.” Bendy managed to say between bites.  Ben hummed in agreement.  

“Thank you sweetheart.” June grinned.  She was happy to see them both enjoying her food, especially Ben.  She was surprised he was eating so much.  Apparently, she wasn’t the only one that noticed.

“These boys sure do have big appetites!” William chuckled.  Pearl agreed.  She told Jason he needed to be more like them.  She thought he was getting skinny.  Her son just rolled his eyes and told her he was fine.

“Hey Ben, you keep eating like that and you’ll finally put some meat on those bones!” William boomed.

Bendy snickered and Ben froze.  First Pearl and now William?  Why were they trying to fatten him up?  He was reminded of a fairy tale he read in one of the children’s books.  Something about a witch feeding children sweets to make them fat so she could eat them.  He chuckled internally.  It’s not like June was planning to eat him or anything.   He glanced at the woman in question.  She was staring back at him and smiling softly.  He gulped audibly, then shook the silly thought from his head.

“Hey Ben, you okay?” June handed him a glass of the sparkling cider.  He took it gratefully and had a few sips. The bubbly liquid tickled the back of his throat and caused him to cough.

“ **I'm fffine.** ”  June narrowed her eyes slightly but didn’t say anymore after.  She probably didn’t believe him and it was eerie how good she was at reading him.

The rest of dinner went by uneventfully.   They all sat around the table, waiting for their meal to digest so they could have dessert.  They heard a few more sports stories from the grandfather and some funny stories of Jason growing up.  There was also talk of another fishing trip.  The children told Bendy about a school play or something like that.  June and Pearl were comparing recipes, some of which sounded tasty and Ben hoped to try them someday.  He didn’t have much to say, but he was happy to be there.  Being apart of all this, whatever this was, made him feel warm inside. 

Almost an hour later, June and Jason sliced up the pie and put them on small plates with a little vanilla ice cream on top.  She also brought a plate of gingerbread cookies to the table incase the apple pie wasn’t enough.  This was definitely the case with the two demons who asked for another slice.   

Pearl was tickled pink that everyone loved her pie, especially Ben.  She thought it was cute the way his eyes lit up every time he took a bite.  In fact, she was the one that brought him another slice.  The second one was bigger than the first.  He thanked her with a shy smile and she had the sudden urge to pinch his cheeks.

After dessert, the table was cleared of dishes and put in the sink to be washed later.  Beth and Sarah grabbed a few board games and set them up so everyone could play.  They taught Ben and Bendy how to play Sorry and Mousetrap.

They were all surprised by how competitive Bendy was.  The little toon relished jumping over other player’s pieces while yelling “SORRY!” sarcastically.  This often caused a shouting match between him and Beth.  June and Henry had to break them up before things got too serious.   Sarah and Ben watched it all go down and was glad they weren’t the ones getting scolded.

The next game they played was Mousetrap and Ben will admit, he liked this one.  It was an excellent example of a Rube Goldberg device.  It reminded him of the crazy things they sometimes used in the cartoons.  Sarah was pretty good at setting up traps and he loved watching it go off.  Ben really got a kick out of it when Bendy was the mouse.  The little toon scowled at him every time he got caught.  Ben just shrugged but couldn’t keep the smirk off his face.

The grandparents stayed for a few more hours but had to call it a night.  It was growing late and they had a two hour drive to get back home.  June made sure they packed some food along with two tins full of gingerbread cookies to take with them.   Jason took their gifts and put them in the trunk of his father’s car.

Everyone was pulled into another hug with promises of visiting again.  The grandparents said their goodbyes and headed home.  A calm atmosphere fell over the home.  All the running around, getting dinner prepared, and having Ben and Bendy meeting the rest of the family, took a lot out of everyone.  Lucky for them, it all went well.

“Alright guys, put the games and puzzles away.  It’s almost time for bed.”  The girls groaned and begged to stay up a little longer.

“But-But we’re not tired!” Beth whined before it morphed into a yawn.  A yawn that became contagious as Bendy and Sarah followed suit.

“Uh huh.” June placed her hands on her hips and watched as the children tried to hide their tiredness.  “You have all day to play in the morning.  Clean up, then off to bed you go.”  She left no room for arguments.

While the kids were putting away their toys, Ben stood near the kitchen a bit conflicted.  He didn’t want to leave, but he was sure June wouldn’t let him sleep on her couch for a second night.  He should head back to the studio anyway.  It was his home after all.   It’s just that, the place was empty now that all of the souls have moved on.  He supposed that was a good thing.  No one was going to disturb him now, but still…

Ben took off the sweater Pearl gave him.  In spite of how it looked, it kept him very warm.  He'd hate to ruin it by getting ink all over it.  He sighed and stared at the sweater in his hands.

June watched Ben as he stood there holding his gift from Pearl.  He looked so…lost.  She glanced at her husband who gave her a slight nod.  It was time.

“Hey Ben.” June smiled warmly as she approached him.  “Getting ready to head home?”

“ **Yeah…** ”  He smiled, but it was kind of shaky.  He tried to hand her the sweater, but June pushed it back towards him.  He looked confused.

“Before you go, I have a present, for you.”  Ben stood there in complete shock.  He wasn’t expecting to get anything else.

“Come with me.”  June took him by his human hand and led him down the hall.   He had been to this part of the house before.  The hall was dimly lit with the only light coming from the kitchen or the small bathroom at the end of the hall.  There was another room here, it was always kept locked.  He figured it was just a storage closet, nothing more.

June stopped in front of the locked door.  She twisted the knob and the door creaked open.

“It’s in here.”  She stepped to the side so he could enter the room.  The demon tugged on the sweater in his hands nervously.  June gave him a reassuring smile and encouraged him to step through the doorway.

Ben had to duck slightly so he wouldn’t hit his head on the doorway.  He looked around, but couldn’t see anything.  June stepped into the room and flipped a light switch on the wall. 

Ben froze.

_**-Two Weeks Earlier-** _

  
“So, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, but I want your opinion first.”  June ran her fingers through her hair. This was a major decision she was about to make, but she didn’t want to do this alone.

She sat at the kitchen table with Beth, Sarah, and Jason.  Family meetings were often held at this table and they had something important to discuss. 

“If any of you are uncomfortable with this, we won’t do it.”

“I’m okay with it.”  Beth shrugged her tiny shoulders and glanced at her sister.

Sarah tugged on the end of her sleeves as she thought about what was being asked of her.  She looked at her sister, then her mother, a soft smile spread across her face.

“I-I don’t mind.”  Sarah giggled when her dad ruffled her hair.

“I’m fine with this too.  He earned this.” Jason chuckled.

June sighed and sagged in her seat.   If they sad no, she would accept it.  She would never bring it up again and go about their lives as normal.  She was relieved they were willing to do this.

“Well, that settles it:  Ben is getting his own room!” 

“It’s about time!” Beth shouted.  Everyone at the table laughed.  They all agreed, Ben practically lived here now.  

“Now this is going to be a surprise, so you can’t tell him.  Not even Shadow.  Can you keep this a secret?”  The girls giggled and nodded vigorously.  They ran out of the kitchen and up to their room. They wanted to make something pretty for Ben’s new room.  June just shook her head.  She was truly proud of their girls.

Jason hummed softly.  “Do you think he’ll say, “Yes.”?”

“I dunno.  At least he’ll have a room to go to whenever he shows up here at odd hours of the night.”

“Heh, tell me about it!” Jason chuckled.  “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come home in the middle of the night, only to find him sitting on the living room floor, in the dark.”

“Maybe he’ll stop sneaking up on me if he has his own room.”  

Jason snorted.  “Not likely.  You’re his favorite target.”  She huffed and pouted.  Her husband was right.  “So, are we giving him the guest room?”  

June shook her head.  “We need that room when we have company.”

“Oh, well, I can fix up the basement.  It’s not too junkie down there.”

She shook her head again.  This confused him.   They didn’t have that many rooms in the house.

“I want to give him...that room.”  June pointed down the hall from the kitchen.

Jason paled suddenly.  “Are you sure?”

She had been asking herself that same question for awhile now.  If she wasn’t ready now, she may never be.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

* * *

June jingled a set of keys nervously in her hands.  She had been standing in front of this locked door for a few minutes now.  Jason squeezed her shoulder gently.

She took a deep breath and unlocked the door.  They both entered the room, flipping on the light switch.  The lights flickered a bit.  The room was slowly flooded with light.

The room was about as large as the girls' room.  There were two windows that faced the backyard.  There were off white curtains covering the windows.  

The room was sparsely furnished.  There was a tall, simple dresser that stood between the windows.  A small closet was built into the wall in the left hand corner of the room.  There was a wooden nightstand on the right side.  A small lamp sat on top of it.  Everything was covered in a light layer of dust.

The only other thing in the room was a large wooden box in the middle of the room.  The box was painted blue and the top was closed with metal hinges.  It was a toy chest.  A large stuffed elephant with a red and white, polka dot bow around its neck, laid on the top of the box.

June walked towards the toy chest and picked up the stuffed elephant.  She turned it over in her hands before hugging it to her chest.  She wasn’t sure how long she stood like that, clutching the stuffed animal tightly, but her breath hitched when Jason wrapped his arms around her.  

“You don’t have to do this.”  His voice was slightly muffled as he rested his head on her shoulder.

“I know.”  June leaned into him.  “This room has been empty long enough.  It’s time someone else got to use it.”

Neither one said anything.  They were lost in their own thoughts…and memories.  Finally, June leaned back just enough to wipe a few stray tears from her eyes.   Jason asked her if she was okay.

“Yeah.” June sniffled.  “It's just really dusty in here.”  

“Juniper.” Jason looked less than convinced.

“He’s going to need a bed.”  June tried her best to change the subject.  Her husband rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry.  I’ll find one.”  She thanked him.  The room just needed a little cleaning, maybe a fresh coat of paint.  She could do this.

“Can-Can you do me a favor?” June ran her hand over the toy chest.  She opened the lid and carefully laid the elephant inside.  “Can you put this in the attic for me?  Please.”  

He wrapped her up in another hug and kissed her on the forehead.  “Sure.”

 

_**-Present Day-** _

 

Ben walked around the room slowly.  A tall dresser sat between two windows covered with gold curtains. There was a writing desk and a chair in the left hand corner of the room along with a small bookcase.   A nightstand with a small lamp sat in the right hand corner near a bed that was pushed against the wall.  The bed itself was covered in a large, colorful  patchwork quilt.  What really caught his eye was a handmade sign that was taped to the wall above the bed.

The words, “Ben's Room", was written in crayon and glitter.  There was no doubt in his mind that the girls did this.  He ran his fingers over it just to make sure it was real.  He looked over his shoulder to see June standing there.

“ **My room?** ” Even saying that out loud, he couldn’t believe it.   Were they really giving him his own room in their home?

“Yup.  This is your room…if you want it.”  June began to squirm under his intense stare.  Maybe he didn’t like it.  She knew there was a chance he might say “No", but she hoped he would at least consider it.

“I know the walls look a little plain, but we can change the color if you want.”  Ben didn’t say a word.  Now he was really starting to make her nervous.

“Um, you can even bring some of the posters from the studio if you want!  We can frame them so you can hang them on the wall.”

Ben hung his head and started rubbing his hands together.  He took another look around the room before his violet eyes fell on June.

“Ben, are you alright?” June reached out and touched his gloved hand.  “Talk to me.”

“ **Thisss isss…my room?** ”

“Yes.”

“ **I-I can ssstay here, with you?** "

June smiled warmly.  “Yes, but only if you want to.”

“ **Yes!  I-I want to ssstay!** ”  He took her hand and squeezed it gently.  A real, genuine smile spread across his face.

Before June could say another word, Beth, Bendy, and Sarah burst into the room.  The girls cheered and told Ben how glad they were that he was staying.  All three hopped on his bed and commented on how soft the quilt felt.  June scolded them for jumping on the bed to which Ben wrapped his long arms around all three and lifted them in the air.  Squeals and laughter echoed off the walls as his captives tried to wiggle out of his iron grip.

Henry and Jason stood in the doorway and watched the chaos unfold in the room.  Neither one had ever seen the demon this happy before.  Plus watching June fuss at all of them was always amusing.

“So, the bed was for him?” Henry questioned. 

“Yeah.  June wanted to keep all of this a secret.” Jason chuckled.  “Even the girls was in on it.”

“This isn’t going to be easy.  Other people aren’t as opened minded as you.” Henry glanced at his brother-in-law. “They are going to take one look at him and see nothing but a monster.”

“Don’t worry Henry.  We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”  A look of determination crept into Jason’s eyes.  “Besides,  he more than deserves this.”

Henry hummed softly.  He approached June, placed his hand on her shoulder, and asked to speak to her out in the hall.  She hesitated for a moment but followed him out of the room.

“Juney.” Henry sighed tiredly.  “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah!  I figured he wouldn’t want to go up and down the stairs with his bad leg.” She rambled.  “He’ll have a place to go during those few times he dropped by in the middle of the night or when we weren’t home.  And if he needs something, I’m sure we can-"

“That’s NOT what I meant.”  Henry’s sharp tone caused June to flinch and step away from him.  He quickly apologized and softened his voice.  The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

“I-I know.  I know.”  She rubbed her arms absentmindedly.   “We talked it over and agreed to do this.  Besides,  after what happened to us in the studio, I just…couldn’t let him go back there.”

“I understand, but are you sure you want to give him this room?”  June bit her lower lip and ran her fingers through her hair.  She took a moment to collect her thoughts before looking her brother in the eye.

“He needs this.  Heck, I need this!” June rubbed a bit of moisture from her eyes.  “It’s  just that…I couldn’t keep that room empty forever.  I want him to have it.”

Henry shook his head.  He understood why they were doing this.  It didn’t change the fact that having Ben around may make life harder for her and her family.  He should know.  A lot of parents were scared when they found out Bendy, a toon demon, befriended their children.  And while things might have calmed down over the year, the adults still keep a wary eye on him.

“Y'know, I’d be willing to make room for him in my home.  You don’t have to do this.”  June smiled warmly and hugged him.

“I know you would and you should still do it.  You are his creator after all.  He needs you.  I know you’ll help him get past all the terrible things Joey did to him.”  Henry agreed.  He still owed the demon his side of the story.

“He needs to know that he’s wanted and that we won’t abandon him.”  When Ben broke down in the studio, she made up her mind then and there that she would help him.

“Alright Juney, you win.” Henry chuckled softly.  “But if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”  

“I will old man.  I promise.”  She smirked when he groaned, telling her he wasn’t THAT old.  She ruffled the patch of grey in his hair and laughed.

When the siblings returned to Ben's room, Jason had convinced the lanky demon to relinquish his prisoners. The girls were showing him the closet and his new view of the backyard from the windows.  June was proud of her girls for welcoming him with open arms.

She clapped her hands to get their attention and told everyone it was time for bed.  The girls begged and pleaded but their mom wouldn’t be swayed.  Jason took them both by the hand and promised to read them a bedtime story.

They wished Ben Goodnight and filed out of the room one by one with Bendy meeting Henry out in the hall.  The little toon looked up at him and frowned.

“Henry, is something wrong?”  The man blinked and looked a little confused.  Bendy told him that he felt pain through their bond just a minute ago.  He thought that maybe he was upset because June asked Ben to stay.

“No bud, I’m not angry.  It’s just-" Henry cut himself off before saying anymore.  He didn’t want to get into this right now.  Plus it wasn’t his story to tell.  “I’m fine.”

Bendy narrowed his pie cut eyes.  He knew Henry wasn’t being completely honest, but he couldn’t figure out why.  The old animator was being incredibly tight lipped about whatever was going on.  The little toon figured he’d drop it, for now.  He was too tired to argue about it right now.

The only ones left in the room was Ben and June.  In the past, she used to be scared to be left  alone with him. But now, she was happy to have him around.  There were moments where he made her a little nervous, but she knew he didn’t do it on purpose.  Well, most of the time.  He still got a kick out of sneaking up on her, but it was all in good fun.

June watched Ben fold up his sweater and place it inside one of the dresser drawers.   She made a mental note to get him some more clothes.  The demon crossed the room and sat down on the bed.  He ran his hand over the quilt.

“ **It’sss ssso sssoft.** ” Ben whispered.

“It’s very warm and I figured you’d like the colors too.”  Ben’s grin was lopsided and relaxed.  She liked this smile more than his manic one.

“ **Ttthank you, for everything.** ”

“You’re very welcome.  Well, I’m heading to bed.  I’ll see you in the morning.” June was about to leave, but Ben grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Ben, is something wrong?  If the blanket's not warm enough, I can bring you an extra one.”

The ink demon shook his head, then stared at the floor.  He wasn’t used to speaking a lot.  Ever since he met June, she had got him to talk more than anyone else in his existence.  Sometimes it frustrated him when he couldn’t find the right words to express himself.  He wanted to tell her how much he appreciated everything she had done for him, but he couldn’t.   Not yet anyway.  

Ben lifted his head and looked at June's hand.  He ran his thumb over the bandage and made a silent promise. He wont hurt her again.  Not if he could help it.    

Ben looked her in the eyes and smiled.  “ **You would’ve made a…beautiful angel.** ”  She gasped and her green eyes grew wide.  She seemed to be at a loss for words.  

“ **Goodnight, June.** ”  He let her hand slip from his grip.  

June stumbled back and pressed her hand against her chest.  Her heart raced as dream-like visions flooded her mind.  A large, white face looming over her.  A purple orb floating in an empty space.  For just a moment, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.  But the sensation ended as quickly as it started.  She was safe in her home, far far away from that hellhole.  That place will never hurt then again!  She took a few deep breaths and graced Ben with a gentle smile.

“Goodnight Ben.”  June walked out, leaving him alone in his room.  It felt strange to consider this ‘his room’.  He spent years wandering the halls of the studio and never had a room of his own besides the throne room.  He finally had a place to rest without the fear of being attacked. 

Ben heard footsteps coming down the hall.  A large, grinning face peeked into his room along with a little grey bundle of fluff.  Shadow and Cloudy tip toed into the room.

The duo walked around the room, inspecting every corner, and sniffing at his new bed.  The demon scooped the kitten up and laid him on his shoulder.  Cloudy purred and rubbed his cheek against the demon’s neck.

Shadow sat on its haunches and stared up at its creator.  Ben could feel a gentle nudge at their bond.  It was as if the cat wanted to ask him something.  He patted it on the head and scratched it behind its horn.

“ ** _Isss thisss home?_** ”  Ben froze.  Shadow “spoke" to him!  This hasn’t happened before.  He always felt impressions or saw flashes of images in his mind when the cat wanted to communicate.  Never words and certainly not this clearly. 

Shadow’s ‘voice' was like the quiet whisper of running ink.  A soft hiss of air through the old pipes.  It was something that shouldn’t be understood as words and yet it rang through Ben’s mind as clear as a bell.  

“ **Yesss, thisss isss our home now.** ”  The demon could feel happiness and relief from the ink cat.  Looks like it didn’t want to go back to the studio either.

Shadow jumped onto his bed and managed to curl up next to him.  Ben leaned back against the wall and ran his hand down the ink cat’s skinny body.  Ben was finally at peace, surrounded by content purrs.  One from the small, furry body resting against his neck and one from the large body pressed against his side.  

Is this what a true home felt like?  He finally understood why Bendy wanted to stay with their creator so badly. Henry, June, Jason, Beth, Sarah, and even the little ink spot…they were his family now.   He had people that actually cared about him and he cared for them just as much.  They were precious to him and he won’t let anyone take that away from him.

Ben closed his eyes and for the first time, slipped into a peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! It took me over a year, but I finished this series. I didn't mean to take so long, but I was determined to get this done. Thank you everyone for sticking it out with me. Your enjoyment of these stories is what kept me going. Now, even though it is the end of THIS series, that doesn't mean it's the end of Ben's adventure!
> 
> * Song: Body and Soul by Ruth Etting (1930)

**Author's Note:**

> And so it begins...


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